The Giants host the Steelers for this week 1 matchup in the NFL. The much anticipated return of Ben Roethlisberger for the Steelers is now over after a season ending elbow injury last year. This will be Juju Smith-Schuster's year to prove whether he is a true number one wide receiver with Big Ben back at quarterback. The 2nd year wide receiver Diontae Johnson will be their second option with the new edition of Eric Ebron at tight end and James Conner in the backfield.
On defense, The Steelers had most of their starters return this year including star cornerback Minkah Fitzpatrick & star lineback T.J. Watt. Steelers were a tier 1 defense last year especially after they traded their 1st round pick for Minkah Fitzpatrick, and they should give the Giants offense some problems.
On offense, the Giants will be lead by 2nd year quarterback Daniel Jones and star runningback Saquon Barkley. At wide receiver the Giants have Sterling Shepard, Darius Slayton, and Golden Tate. Daniel Jones led the league in fumbles with 18 total, but the Giants invested in their offensive line grabbing three lineman in the draft and former Chief Stefen Wisniewski. Evan Engram is also shaping up to be an elite tight end who can block and ran a 4.4 40, so I expect he will give the Steelers some difficulty tomorrow on defense.
On defense, the Giants will still struggle as they have in recent years. They invested in Leonard Williams and Dexter Lawrence on the defensiveline, which will help stop the run but they are still weak on stopping the pass in their secondary, as well as not having a solid pass rush.
I have to go with the Steelers to cover the spread here. The Steelers defense is one of the best in the league and should be able to contain the Giants offense outside of Barkley and Engram. Also the Giants are projected to be one of the worst defenses in the League, so even if Big Ben isn't the player he used to be, they should get through the Giants fine.
