New York Giants vs. Pittsburgh Steelers – 9/14/20 NFL Pick, Odds, and Prediction

The Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants meet Monday in week 1 NFL action at MetLife Stadium in the early Monday Night Football game on ESPN.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are coming off a frustrating 8-8 season that ended with them losing three straight games. The Steelers offense should be more reliable with a healthy Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback, a veteran who seems to be eager to prove there’s something left in that tank. The addition of Eric Ebron to pair with James Washington and JuJu Smith-Schuster gives the Steelers one of the better group of pass catchers in the league. As long as the offensive line holds up, the Steelers are in business on the offensive end. Defensively, the Steelers and two cornerstones in T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick, playmakers who can flip a game on its head with one play. Linebackers Bud Dupree and Devin Bush have come into their own and big things are expected of Terrell Edmunds this season. The Steelers are that team that never goes away, and this should be a bounce back year for the black and yellow.

The New York Giants are coming off a four-win season, but they did win two of their last three games, so maybe this team is heading in the right direction. Jason Garrett is the offensive coordinator for the Giants, and it’s going to be interesting to see what he can get out of quarterback Daniel Jones, running back Saquon Barkley and tight end Evan Engram. The pieces are there for the Giants to be an explosive offense, it just comes down to the differences Garrett makes as an OC that he couldn’t make as a head coach. Defensively, the Giants have nowhere to go but up, and New York is hoping the additions of physical defensive backs Julian Love and Jabrill Peppers and is a good start. The Giants pass rush could use some work, but linebacker Markus Golden is coming off a 10-sack season in his first year in the Big Apple. There’s reason for hope with the Giants, but I’m taking kind of a wait and see approach with this club that has question marks.

The Steelers are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 Monday games, 4-9-1 ATS in their last 14 games as a favorite and 2-7 ATS in their last 9 games in Week 1. The Giants are 4-9 ATS in their last 13 games in September, 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games on fieldturf and 3-12-1 ATS in their last 16 home games. The under is 7-1 in Steelers last 8 games overall. The over is 4-1 in Giants last 5 games overall.

There’s value lost in these Monday night home underdogs without a citemd in place. Usually the home team comes out with some pep in its step on Monday night and the citemd is going crazy, providing an electric atmosphere. That’s not the case this season and a lot of these games are pretty much on a neutral site. The Pittsburgh Steelers are the better team here on both sides of the ball. The New York Giants have also failed to cover six of their last seven home games as a favorite of three or more points. 

I’ll take the Steelers by a touchdown.