NY Giants: 5 takeaways from the loss against the Steelers

EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - SEPTEMBER 14: T.J. Watt #90 of the Pittsburgh Steelers attempts a sack as Daniel Jones #8 of the New York Giants passes during the second half at MetLife Stadium on September 14, 2020 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - SEPTEMBER 14: T.J. Watt #90 of the Pittsburgh Steelers attempts a sack as Daniel Jones #8 of the New York Giants passes during the second half at MetLife Stadium on September 14, 2020 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
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The NY Giants lost a tough game to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night. We look at five takeaways from the first game of the season for the Giants.

The NY Giants kicked off the 2020 season with a difficult 26-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers came in as a six-point favorite over the Giants, most believed that they were the superior team, and would therefore win.

What made the loss especially difficult was that the NY Giants played well enough to win the game leading most of the first half and remaining within six points of the Steelers until the 14:19 mark in the fourth quarter. In fact, the Giants were on the brink of going up on Pittsburgh with 3:25 left in the third quarter, when Daniel Jones was intercepted on a 2nd-and-3 at the Pittsburgh 4 yard line.

The GMEN had a plethora of new faces on the roster due to free agency acquisitions and players who were drafted in the 2020 NFL Draft, many of whom were assuming starting roles on the team. The NY Giants had eight players in last night’s starting lineup who were not on the roster last season.

With no preseason to get those players live game action in which to become acclimated with their new roles and teammates, there is some reason for optimism over how some of the new faces played and that those who did not play well may improve as the schedule progresses.

The loss was certainly a difficult one for the NY Giants and their fans to swallow, while there are undoubtedly a number of areas that the team must vastly improve moving forward if they hope to be competitive this season, there are also a number of positives that could be found.

Here are my five main takeaways following the NY Giants loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday evening:

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