New York Giants: Pittsburgh Steelers Week One Matchup Preview

New York Giants offense vs. Pittsburgh Steelers defense

In 2019, the Steelers defense looked like one of the best in the NFL towards the end of the season thanks to the amazing play of Minkah Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick alone in his 14 games with the Steelers last season, had five interceptions, two fumble recoveries, a forced fumble, and 57 total tackles.

The Steelers had the third-best passing defense in the NFL in 2019, allowing an average of only 194.6 passing yards per game. In addition to that, the Steelers also grabbed the second-most interceptions for a team last season with 20.

That being said, Fitzpatrick and the Steelers defense are going to be a large problem for Jones and the Giants, but the good news is that the Giants have a star running back by the name of Saquon Barkley. Also, Jones’ problem in 2019 wasn’t interceptions, it was fumbles.

In his rookie season, Daniel Jones fumbled the ball 18 times, while throwing 12 interceptions. The interceptions number isn’t HORRIBLE, but the fumbles are. If Jones can manage to hold onto the ball and not fumble it, he should be in a much better position against the Steelers and all other opponents in 2020.

However, in week one against the Steelers, I don’t see that being as much of a problem because I believe Saquon Barkley is going to get a lot of touches on the first Monday Night Football game of the season.

In 2019 the Steelers were right in the middle of the pack when it came to opponent rushing yards per game as they allowed 109.6 per game. This is good news for the Giants because if their passing defense is that good, they’ll opt to instead hand the ball off.

This should be an intriguing matchup for the Giants, while tough, it’s not impossible and hopefully, the Giants will be able to move the ball downfield and score quite a bit.