When the Steelers travel to the Giants to open up a "Monday Night Football" doubleheader in the penultimate game of 2020 NFL Week 1 (7:10 p.m. ET, ESPN), they will try to match the Ravens at 1-0 in first place in the AFC North. After both Dallas and Philadelphia lost, a win for New York would put it in a first-place NFC East tie with Washington.
Joe Judge will make his debut at home as Giants' head coach, looking for a turnaround. Mike Tomlin, whose team missed the playoffs trying to navigate through losing quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to an early elbow injury, is hoping to lead a big rebound.
There are higher expectations for Daniel Jones in Year 2 to make this game competitive vs. Roethlisberger. The Giants are going through a rebuild of their defense, however, while the Steelers have arguably the best pass rush/secondary coverage combination in the NFL.
Here's everything to know about betting on Steelers vs. Giants in Week 1, including updated odds, trends and our prediction for "Monday Night Football."
MORE: Get the latest NFL odds at Sports Insider
Steelers vs. Giants odds for ‘Monday Night Football'
- Spread: Steelers by 6
- Over/under: 45
- Point spread odds: Steelers -108, Giants -112
The line has held steady just short of a full touchdown and extra point after starting at 4 points. The Steelers were 8-8 last season while the Giants finished 4-12. Roethlsiberger's return and an elite defense, plus their road warrior mentality with Tomlin, are big in creating the significant difference.
Steelers vs. Giants all-time series
The Giants have a sizable lead in their limited history, 34-20-2. The Steelers, however, have won two straight dating back to 2012, three of four and six of nine. For the first time in 16 years, it won't be Eli Manning at QB on the other side of fellow 2014 first-rounder Roethlisberger. Judge, however, has plenty of experience against Tomlin's team facing the Steelers in the AFC often while on Bill Belichick's Patriots staff.
Three trends to know
— 64 percent of bettors are hard on the Steelers to cover what looks like a low number. The Steelers were 9-7 against the spread last season. The Giants were 7-9.
— 52 percent of the bettors like the game to go under. That's tied more to the Steelers' defense shutting down the Giants' offense, save for Saquon Barkley.
— The Giants saw the total go over in 10 of 16 games last season. The Steelers, with their offensive injuries, had 4 of 16 games go under in 2019.
Three things to watch
Barkley's bite
The Giants will not have great success letting Jones throw often to his talented wideouts (Sterling Sherpard, Darius Slayton, Golden Tate) and tight end Evan Engram. The Steelers' pass rush is nasty unit led by T.J. Watt, and Steven Nelson, Joe Haden and Minkah Fitzpatrick are a trio of secondary traps.
New York's best chance in the game is to grind it out with Barkley running and catching short passes and play offensive coordinator Jason Garrett's favorite time-of-possession game.
Big Ben's back
Roethlsiberger has looked rejuvenated and healthy, now throwing to a great group of wideouts in JuJu Smith-Schuster, Diontae Johnson, James Washington and rookie Chase Claypool. The Giants won't have answers if he can push the ball downfield for a few big-play shots.
The Steelers can run, too, with James Conner, but they are built to throw and that's exactly where they need to attack New York, with their versatile weapons, stretching the field vertically and horizontally.
Judge jitters or jolt?
Three new coaches in Week 1 took a bad beating, Kevin Stefanski, Matt Rhule and Mike McCarthy. Ron Rivera got Washington to win however, with his inspiring on- and off-field coaching. Judge will either inspire the Giants to play Patriots-like football that leads to shocking the Steelers, or allow them to wilt based on his inexperience and their talent disparity.
Stat that matters
15-2 and 8. That is the Steelers' record with Mike Tomlin on Monday nights plus how many consecutive MNF games they have won with him at the helm. That's incredible week-closing prime-time work. The Giants may be caught looking under the lights with Judge and no fans. The Steelers are used to big-game settings and usually pour it on vs. overmatched opponents.
Steelers vs. Giants prediction
The Steelers will look to jump out to a lead with Big Ben getting big plays from his wideouts and then they will grind away with Conner with their defense facing little issues. Barkley keeps New York hanging around for a little bit but Pittsburgh still wins comfortably, closing the door with sacks and takeaways vs. Jones.
Steelers 24, Giants 14
