Depot Roundtable: Week 8 Steelers Vs. Giants Preview

Another week, another primetime football game for the Pittsburgh Steelers, against another New York team to boot.

Make sure to brew a cup of coffee and settle in for another long night.

This week, the Steelers will take on the New York Giants on Monday Night Football on the North Shore and will do so in the Color Rush uniforms. Last week, the Steelers wore the block-number throwbacks with gray face masks and rolled to a blowout win over the Jets.

Will the Color Rush jerseys bring good luck this time? The last time the Steelers wore them in a primetime matchup at home, they lost last season on Thursday Night Football to the New England Patriots.

The Week 8 matchup against the Giants looks very good on paper for the Steelers, who seemingly have quite a few matchup advantages on paper. That goes out the window once the ball is kicked off, though.

Here at Steelers Depot, we’re doing something new this season. While Alex Kozora and Dave Bryan give their in-depth breakdown and preview of the game weekly on The Terrible Podcast, Joe Clark, Ross McCorkle, Scott Brown, Troy Montgomery, and I are doing a weekly roundtable, answering key questions ahead of each game.

Today, we examine the Steelers’ Week 8 Monday Night Football matchup between the Giants and Steelers.

QUESTION 1: WHO IS THE STEELERS’ X FACTOR AGAINST THE GIANTS?

Josh Carney: WR George Pickens. The Giants are very banged up at cornerback, and even when guys were healthy the Giants had one of the worst secondaries in football, allowing 11 plays of 20+ yards on the season. That’s where Pickens has thrived and has another huge opportunity in front of him this week.

The Steelers might want to come out and throw the ball to set up the run with Najee Harris once again, putting the game in Russell Wilson’s hands. Against a defense that struggles to keep a lid on things through the air, Pickens is going to test the Giants time and time again downfield.

If he can make plays deep downfield like he did against the Jets, the Steelers’ offense should roll once again.

Joe Clark:  C Ryan McCollum. He’s going to need to neutralize Dexter Lawrence, and while he’s going to have help, McCollum is going to be the main lineman tasked with blocking the dominant nose tackle. Lawrence is a dangerous player, someone who can disrupt Pittsburgh’s game plan, and the Steelers can’t allow that to happen. Especially against the pass, McCollum will need to make sure the NFL sack leader in Lawrence isn’t in Russell Wilson’s face all game.

He’s played well so far, but Monday Night is going to be his biggest test.

Ross McCorkle: RB Jaylen Warren. Whether it is picking up the blitz or catching passes out of the backfield, Warren could make a big impact on this game. It isn’t going to be a one-man job to slow down Dexter Lawrence’s interior pressure, which means there could be other linebackers coming behind him to exploit the extra attention Lawrence receives from the Steelers’ interior offensive linemen. Warren might need a big game in pass pro. Russell Wilson also has a history of checking down to running backs, and Warren looked much better in Week 7. We are still waiting for his 2024 breakout game, and this could be it.

Scott Brown: RG Mason McCormick: Mike Tomlin has made clear that blocking Dexter Lawrence – apparently the Lawrence Taylor of nose tackles – won’t be a one-man job. That means C Ryan McCollum will get help from McCormick and left guard Isaac Seumalo.

I hate that James Daniels suffered a season-ending injury going into free agency. I love how McCormick has played since taking over for him. The rookie just kind of has that “it” factor for an offensive lineman. Would not be surprised if his pregame routine includes chewing on glass while listening to “Welcome to the Jungle” and bench-pressing Danny Smith.

Troy Montgomery: LB Patrick Queen. The Giants don’t have any elite tight ends or running backs that Queen will need to match up against, but he might need to keep an eye on quarterback Daniel Jones. Jones is one of the more mobile quarterbacks in the league. He isn’t anything special as a passer, but in the open field, he’s a threat.

That’s where Queen comes in. The Giants’ offense has been bad, and Jones hasn’t been elite running this year, but his ability in that area of the game is well-documented. As the Steelers’ quarterback on defense and their man in the middle, Queen will need to be a sure tackler if Jones takes off. Letting him break off a big run could give the Giants some momentum.

QUESTION 2: WHAT IS THE KEY MATCHUP TO WATCH IN STEELERS-GIANTS?

Josh Carney: C Ryan McCollum vs. NT Dexter Lawrence. This matchup terrifies me. I’d feel a lot better if it was Zach Frazier at center, but it’s not this week.

To McCollum’s credit, he played well against the Jets in his first start as a Steeler. But this is a different test entirely against the Giants and the best nose tackle in football in Dexter Lawrence. Lawrence has 9.0 sacks on the season already and is a game-wrecker on the interior.

Head coach Mike Tomlin said the Steelers better do more than wish McCollum luck against Lawrence, so it seems safe to assume LG Isaac Seumalo and RG Mason McCormick will help out against the All-Pro nose tackle. But McCollum will find himself in 1-on-1 situations. He’ll need to hold his own again.

Joe Clark: T.J. Watt vs. OT Jermaine Eluemunor. Eluemunor sure seems confident in his ability to block Watt, and if he is able to contain him, that will be big for the Giants. I have my doubts, though, and I think Watt is going to be able to put his stamp on this game. It might be a big game for Watt, especially after hearing what Eluemunor had to say this week. It seems as if every week someone says they can stop Watt. Then the opposite happens.

Ross McCorkle: C Ryan McCollum vs. NT Dexter Lawrence. It is hard to list anything other than this matchup A center making his third NFL start versus a nose tackle who has nine sacks through seven games. McCollum is going to get help from both guards and the play design, but he still has to put up at least a respectable effort. One Giants player is the most capable of wrecking the game, and that is Lawrence.

Scott Brown: CB Joey Porter Jr. vs. WR Malik Nabers. DC Teryl Austin said the Steelers haven’t had the need for JPJ to shadow No. 1 WRs because of Donte Jackson. He has been a revelation. Or at least not Patrick Peterson/Levi Wallace. Maybe Porter travels more Monday night. The Giants offense is largely nondescript, but it has a budding star in Nabers.

He and Brian Thomas are the latest LSU WRs to take the NFL by storm. The Steelers might do well to challenge Porter to stick to Nabers like arm hair and not let him go off at Acrisure Stadium.

Troy Montgomery: CB Joey Porter Jr. vs. WR Malik Nabers. Nabers is a rookie with only five games under his belt, but he looks like a stud. The sixth-overall pick in this year’s draft, Nabers has been basically the only playmaker for the Giants. He has 39 receptions for 427 yards and three touchdowns, and when he gets going, it’s tough to stop him.

Porter has been hungry for big-time matchups since entering the league. Nabers may not be a household name yet, but he’s an explosive player. When the Giants have moved the ball, it’s been because of him. Porter might not follow Nabers, but it would be wise for the Steelers to try to keep them together often. Force someone else on the Giants’ offense to step up.

QUESTION 3: WHAT IS THE BIGGEST KEY TO THE GAME FOR THE STEELERS?

Josh Carney: Urgency in all three phases, again. Hit shots downfield early, build a lead and put the final nail in the coffin early with a suffocating defense and special teams.

On paper, this is a game the Steelers should win, and comfortably. But in the past that hasn’t always been the case. Though the Steelers have shown the ability to not play down to the competition and blown out bad teams this season, there’s still that concern that lingers in this one.

The Giants are bad. Really bad. The Steelers have to know that. And they’re probably eyeing the bye week, too. They can’t come out and hope to warm up to it and have the Giants roll over. Show some urgency regardless of records. Come out, send a message and put this one away.

Joe Clark: Continue to establish the run. The Steelers won’t have to do much to beat the 2-5 Giants. Build a lead and keep grounding and pounding their way to success. It’s worked the last two weeks, and having the run game rolling and the offense confident heading into the bye will be critical ahead of a difficult second half. Make it happen.

Ross McCorkle: Deep-passing success. Arthur Smith said “we’re greedy, we want more” when referring to Russell Wilson’s deep shots. The frequency of the deep passes should further increase after seeing what it did for the offense last week. They are lower percentage plays, which can really hurt the offense if too many are unsuccesful. If they find themselves in 3rd and long because they got behind the chains with poor deep passing, it could be rough for the Steelers’ pass protection.

Scott Brown: Simply put, don’t lose it. This is – and has been – the formula until the Steelers get to their bye week. The schedule after Week 9 gets much tougher but the Steelers can adjust to that after a 6-2 start. I’m anxious to see how the offense looks in another game with Russell Wilson under center but keep this one simple. Run the ball, take care of the ball, and make Daniel Jones beat an opportunistic defense that will be playing in front of Terrible Towel-waving fans. Russ can cook after the break.

Troy Montgomery: Keep Russell Wilson upright. There aren’t many good things about the Giants, but their defensive line has some serious firepower. When they’re healthy, Dexter Lawrence and Brian Burns are elite players. Azeez Ojulari has also been solid. The Steelers’ offensive line is missing several starters, so they could face some challenges this week.

Wilson isn’t getting any younger, and while he moved a little bit against the New York Jets, it’s clear he’s not the same athlete he once was. He was playing well in the pocket though, so if the Steelers can keep him clean, he should have opportunities in the passing game. If he gets beaten up though, the Steelers may struggle to find a rhythm.

QUESTION 4: WHAT IS YOUR PREDICTION FOR STEELERS VS. GIANTS?

Josh Carney: Like I said earlier, this looks like an easy win on paper for the Steelers. They’re better defensively and the Giants are banged up along the offensive line, which plays right into the Steelers’ hands. Pittsburgh found something on offense, too, and the Giants struggle to stop deep shots.

Yes, Dexter Lawrence is a star and the Giants’ pass rush with Brian Burns is menacing, but the Steelers are just the better team, period. Come out and show it and leave no doubt. Don’t let them hang around, don’t play an ugly brand of football.

I think this one could get out of hand early, and could lead to another relatively calm, easy fourth quarter. That still doesn’t seem legal when it comes to the Steelers though, just to be clear. Steelers 30, Giants 13

Joe Clark: This game shouldn’t be close, and I don’t think it will be. The Steelers have some confidence coming out of last week, and almost every single facet of the game is in their favor. They’ll get off to a quick start and control the ball most of the way in a blowout. Steelers 33, Giants 13

Ross McCorkle: I think the Steelers make another big statement win in primetime. The rust should be knocked off Russell Wilson, and he has good things to build off from last game. Monday Night Football has been heavily slanted towards Mike Tomlin’s teams over the years. I like the Steelers to put up over 30 points for a third straight week and the defense to ride into the bye week as the No. 1 scoring defense. Steelers 31, Giants 10.

Scott Brown: Texted a fraternity brother about how die-hard fans like him feel about Danny Dimes. “Never want him to take another snap. Does that answer your question?” Well, sure. But while the Chiefs still rule, Jones has as many TD passes as Patrick Mahomes (six) and half as many interceptions (four). Still, I’m glad I avoided Jones in my fantasy football drafts the way trigonometry comprehension steered clear of me. Steelers 20, Giants 13.

Troy Montgomery: This feels like a game the Steelers should dominate, so of course, it’s probably going to end up being much closer than it should be. The Giants are bad, but they’re still a team of professionals. On Monday Night Football, they could see this game as a chance to reverse their fortunes.

However, determination can only take you so far. The Steelers might not be as good offensively this week, but their defense should feast. A turnover or two should make this score a little more lopsided in the Steelers’ favor. Steelers 27, Giants 10.