Monday Night Football Preview: Giants at Steelers

Although the Giants have played well on the road, they have not been at their best at night. A victory against Green Bay last Dec. 11 broke their eight-game losing streak on Monday nights.

The Giants’ 54-year record on Monday night is 26-47-1, including 16-32-1 on the road.

Pittsburgh has enjoyed long-term success on Monday nights. In addition to the home winning streak noted above, the Steelers are 53-25 on Monday Night Football, a .680 percentage that is the NFL’s second-best record behind Seattle (30-13, .698). The Seahawks have played have as many Monday night games as the Steelers.

The Steelers are 30-5 at home on Monday, a .857 percentage that is the league’s best.

Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin is 20-3 (.897) on Monday Night Football, the finest record for any head coach with at least 15 games.

The Steelers have won their last four Monday night games.

More importantly to Daboll and his assistant coaches, they present a formidable challenge in all three units.

Offensively, quarterback Russell Wilson made his season debut last week and led Pittsburgh to season highs in points (37) and yards (409). The Steelers put up 264 yards through the air with Wilson after averaging 167.5 yards with Justin Fields under center. Najee Harris has rushed for more than 100 yards in two straight games.

The Steelers have scored in the final minute of the first half five times in seven games this season.

T.J. Watt has led the NFL in sacks three of the last four seasons and tops the team with 4.5 this year. Tackle Cameron Heyward, linebacker Alex Highsmith, and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick are the among the premier players at their positions. The Steelers held Jets running backs Breece Hall and Braelon Allen to 42 combined yards last week.

Pittsburgh has outscored its opponents, 104-36, in the second half and has not allowed a third quarter point all season.

“It seems like every meeting that I’ve had with coaches that have been part of the staff, it’s almost the same meeting (about the Steelers),” Daboll said. “Different faces, but the same meeting relative to the toughness that that team plays with, the grit that they play with, how they control the line of scrimmage on both sides, run the football, use the action game. Defensively, it’s just plug and play. You’ve seen with these players, it’s just the next guy up. T.J. (Watt) and Heyward are unbelievable football players, but there’s a style in which they play with that is physical and aggressive.”

That includes the special teams. Pittsburgh has what Tomlin calls a “block culture.” Pittsburgh has blocked two field goals and a punt in the last three games and would have had two blocks last week vs. the Jets if not for a questionable penalty called on Fitzpatrick. Their 11 blocked kicks since the start of the 2021 season are the most in the NFL, one more than Dallas over that same span. No other team has more than seven in that period.

But despite playing an excellent opponent in a hostile environment, the Giants could be at their best tomorrow night.

“It’s just so happened this year that we’ve played better on the road than we have at home,” wide receiver Darius Slayton said. “Obviously, we want to play better at home. That’s the fun part, is being able to play in front of your own fans and score and be able to celebrate with your 70,000-plus strong. But obviously, this week we’re on the road again. So hopefully, we do continue to play at a high level on the road. That will bode well for us.”