NY Giants Week One X-Factors against Pittsburgh Steelers

2. NY Giants offensive tackles vs Steelers edge defenders

I referenced this situation back in my August piece about which NY Giants players will be hurt the most by the lack of a preseason. The offensive tackle spots look like they will be filled by rookie Andrew Thomas and Cameron Fleming, who had six starts during his two years in Dallas with new Giants offensive coordinator Jason Garrett. That isn’t exactly a duo that instills confidence in the fanbase or fear in edge defenders.

Unfortunately for the offensive tackles, they have been given the very nearly impossible task of facing the Pittsburgh Steelers pass rush, led by All-Pro T.J. Watt and the emerging Bud Dupree. Watt and Dupree combined for a total of 26 sacks off the edge last year en route to solidifying themselves as arguably the best edge duo in the NFL.

While there is no guarantee on either side of the battle, given just how unknown the Giants’ offensive tackles are and the kind of plays that will be called, the logical assumption is that the Steelers edge defenders are going to have a field day later today against the NY Giants.