The New York Giants will head on the road to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers for their Week 8 matchup.
Through seven weeks, the two teams are going in opposite directions. The Steelers come in with a 5-2 record and have won their last two games averaging 34.5 points per game in that span. Meanwhile, at 2-5, the Giants have dropped two straight and have averaged five points per game in that span.
Given the current status of the two teams, it’s no surprise that the Giants opened and continue to be significant underdogs in this matchup.
Here are three reasons for optimism ahead of the matchup on Monday Night Football.
On the road again
The Giants are back on the road this week after consecutive weeks at MetLife Stadium. The splits for quarterback Daniel Jones are mightily tilted when it comes to being away versus being home. For whatever reason, DJ is much more impressive on the road.
While he has not faired well in primetime, he seems to like to be away from MetLife Stadium so hopefully, the Giants can keep it close in a hostile environment.
These aren’t the same Steelers
As the saying goes, you are what your record says you are. Things were going well for the Steelers, sitting at 4-2 and hoping to extend to 5-2 on the season.
Through six weeks, the Steelers had played well with Justin Fields under center. However, for whatever reason, last week, the Steelers turned to Russell Wilson, who got his first win of the season.
There is certainly a quarterback controversy among the fans in Pittsburgh.
Russell Wilson has not been good over the last couple of years and tends to take a lot of sacks during his career. Hopefully, the Giants and their league-leading 31 sacks on the season can get to Wilson early and often.
Malik Nabers
With the way Malik Nabers had played through the first four weeks of the season, he could legitimately be the Giants’ reason for optimism week in and week out. Nabers was back last week after a two-game absence with a concussion.
Nabers was not as overly impressive as he had been before the concussion and perhaps the Giants were easing him back into the role. Nabers seems primed for an impressive game to make a statement once again during his rookie campaign.
Getting their star rookie involved in the game early and often could give the Giants the best chance to win on Monday.
