The NY Giants will likely be underdogs in most of their games this season, and that’s exactly the case when they take on the Steelers in Week One.
Well, NY Giants fans better get used to it now, because with the schedule Big Blue is facing this year this team is bound to be underdogs in most of their games in 2020.
Even though the Steelers aren’t projected to be a powerhouse in the NFL this year by any means, they’re still solid favorites against the NY Giants in their Week One battle at Metlife Stadium.
According to the Action Network, the Giants are currently listed as six-point underdogs heading into the weekend. The home team is typically awarded three points automatically due to home field advantage, so Vegas is basically saying the Steelers are nine points better than the NY Giants.
Playing at home with no fan support is going to be a tough task. Practice hasn’t been going so well this week, so much so that Judge made the team restart its Thursday practice, something all of the players had said they’ve never seen before but were on board with.
So far, the players have been on board with Judge’s hardcore, old-school approach, but his tactics will run dry quickly if the team isn’t winning, which is a big possibility.
NY Giants fans are confident that the team will cover the number, as 73% of the vote on our Twitter page yielded a ‘yes’ vote to that question (the number was 5.5 when we ran the poll).
Will the Giants cover the 5.5 number on Monday Night?
— GMEN HQ (@GMENHQ) September 10, 2020
NY Giants’ depleted secondary will be a huge factor
Right now, the NY Giants’ secondary is a mash unit of sorts due to a variety of factors. Injuries, arrests, and players unexpectedly opting-out of the season have caused the team to scramble to attempt to find solutions — most notably at the outside cornerback position.
GM Dave Gettleman did go out and make a major move late in the offseason when he brought in veteran defensive back Logan Ryan for a very reasonable price. Ryan is expected to mostly play safety, especially early on, but he has the versatility to play anywhere in the secondary and that should pay dividends for Big Blue.
The GMEN defense will welcome back Ben Roethlisberger after he missed most of the 2020 season due to a nagging elbow injury, but he figures to be back to full strength and he has the weapons at his disposal to make this a long night for the NY Giants defense.
Hopefully, defensive coordinator Patrick Graham has someone he can trust along the outside to match up with the Steelers’ talented wideouts, but right now its still a bit of a mystery as to who will step up and man that #2 cornerback role.
Whoever it is will have their hands full.