New York Giants vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: The Competitive Edge
The long wait for the NFL season is finally over, and what better way to get things started if you're the New York Giants than to open the season at home on Monday Night Football against the Pittsburgh Steelers?
Last year, the Steelers just missed clinching the playoffs with one of the worst quarterback situations in recent memory. Their defense is superb, and they’re getting a presumably healthy Ben Roethlisberger back from elbow surgery.
They don't have receiver Antonio Brown anymore. However, they still have a dominant offensive line, talented running back, and many receiving options that can create separation and pose a problem to a young defensive secondary.
Watching how the Giants young secondary fares against Ju-Ju Smith-Schuster, Dionte Johnson, Chase Claypool, James Washington, and Eric Ebron. These talents are young, quick, effective targets for Roethlisberger, who project as one of the keys to the game for the Giants.
But let's break down each side of the ball in more detail.
Steelers Offense vs. Giants Defense
The Giants' defensive secondary has dealt with some adversity and some unpredictable circumstances in the 2020 offseason. DeAndre Baker ran into legal trouble and is no longer with the team; Sam Beal opted out of the season, and second-round pick Xavier McKinney broke his foot and will be out for the foreseeable future.
This forced general manager Dave Gettleman to trade a seventh-round pick for a player who appeared to be on his way out in Denver, cornerback Isaac Yiadom, and sign Logan Ryan, a very talented secondary piece.
It's assumed that Ryan will start outside, opposite James Bradberry, with Jabrill Peppers playing more in the box as a nickel linebacker and Julian Love playing deep.
The unofficial depth chart, which is not assembled by the coaching staff, lists Corey Ballentine as the other starting cornerback on the perimeter. If Ballentine is indeed the starter, expect him to be targeted early and often.
There will probably be a rotation of players, and other secondary pieces will be used, but I also believe Darnay Holmes has practiced his way into the starting nickel spot.
If Ballentine is outside, I expect they will roll coverage towards Ballentine’s side if the young corner can’t stop the offense's rhythm and timing.
The Giants will have to find ways to generate pressure with four-man packages against a very talented Steelers offensive line (we outlined some potential four-man packages in this article done before training camp started).
You can pretty much rest assured that the Giants will have stunts/twists in the game plan and that the third-down defense will more than likely consist of 5-man pressure packages (some of which we proposed in this article), with maybe two down lineman.
Kyler Fackrell, Oshane Ximines, Lorenzo Carter, and Markus Golden will have the opportunity to pin the Steelers' ears back, while one drops into coverage in those specific situations.
The Giants pass rushers may have an issue winning one on one. According to ESPN, the Steelers ranked seventh in the NFL in pass-block win rate as an offensive line, a metric determined by the Steelers’ line’s ability to sustain a block for more than 2.5 seconds, which the line did as a whole 63% of the time.
(Worth noting is that that five-time Pro Bowl guard David DeCastro is not expected to play Monday night.)
The constant pressure on an immobile Roethlisberger, who hasn’t seen live reps in almost a year, can disallow the Steelers from targeting the vulnerabilities in the secondary.
Darnay Holmes had a solid summer and is a promising prospect, but a matchup against Smith-Schuster will be tough. Pittsburgh will attempt to establish the run and get Roethlisberger back into a groove, but I think if the Steelers convert a first down on their first drive, they will take a deep shot with either Johnson or Claypool.
The play-action game can easily pose an issue if the Steelers can establish the run in a road matchup with no fans.
The Giants will be facing a much different offense than the 2019 Steelers, but they should still expect similar rushing packages.
Last season, the Steelers ran a lot of zone, outside pitch, and stretch runs where they attempted to get James Connor outside to use his vision to find cutback lanes against an overstretched defensive front.
Last season, for whatever reason, the Steelers lacked pre-snap motion and ranked 25th in the NFL in pre-snap motion. For reference, the five teams that used the most pre-snap motion when throwing the football were the Chiefs, 49ers, Titans, Ravens, and Patriots--all pretty good teams.
Based on what he showed last year in Miami, Giants defensive coordinator Patrick Graham loves to bring five-man pressure packages and play man coverage behind those packages. This should be tried early against Pittsburgh, but the Giants might change to zone coverage if they can’t contain the Steelers weapons.
The issue with zone coverage and the Giants is continuity. The Giants have added new secondary pieces that have barely spent any time in camp together, specifically Logan Ryan and Isaac Yiadom.
Zone coverage is all about spacing, transitions, and communication, along with awareness about teammates, and this is why it can be so difficult for teams to excel in, especially when there are multiple new faces who haven't yet worked together to establish this rhythm.
I expect the Steelers to use their veteran options to find the coverage's soft spots and take advantage of the lack of continuity with the Giants secondary if they face zone coverage.
Again, this is another reason why the Giants defense has to make Roethlisberger uncomfortable in the pocket. If Lorenzo Carter can be half the player he was in the Blue & White scrimmage, they have a shot.
Giants Offense vs. Steelers Defense
Giants quarterback Daniel Jones received a tough Week 1 matchup that includes playing behind a mostly new offensive line and a new offensive system with little carryover from the previous one that he ran as a rookie.
Pittsburgh led the league in sacks last season with 54, and both Bud Dupree and T.J. Watt had double-digit sacks. That defensive line is anchored by Cameron Heyward, who just received a 4-year contract extension worth $71.4 million.
Overall, that Steelers defense is aggressive, talented at all three levels, and thrives at putting pressure on the quarterback.
The middle of the defense is led by second-year linebacker Devin Bush, an athletic, small, linebacker who is a wrecking ball with sideline-to-sideline speed.
The corners are Joe Haden, an elder statesman whose play hasn’t taken a huge dive, and Steven Nelson, who overachieved last year and proved to be a solid piece to Keith Butler’s defense.
The Steelers run a lot of big-nickel type of packages with safeties Terrell Edmunds or Minkah Fitzpatrick dropping close to the box alongside Bush and linebacker Vince Williams. Both Edmunds and Fitzpatrick are solid run defenders, and their presence doesn’t negate their ability to halt a rushing attack.
Giants rookie offensive tackle Andrew Thomas will likely be tasked to block Dupree one on one while the line shifts towards Watt, depending on the defensive alignment.
Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett must have chip/release routes with running back Saquon Barkley and tight end Evan Engram to help protect the rookie offensive tackle if he struggles with Dupree.
New York may have to rely on 5-man protection packages on passing situations with either Barkley or Dion Lewis staying in to block, or maybe even a tight end to the non-slide side if they have the time to get the snap off depending on the defensive alignment.
Tight end Levine Toilolo was brought to New York to assist with blocking, and he may be called upon to help in pass protection if the pressure is too much.
Jones must know where Minkah Fitzpatrick is pre- and post-snap; he must know his rotation and his goal, and must not be baited into robber coverage (coverage that seeks to trick the quarterback into thinking a receiver is open when in fact, he's not) or in-breaking trap throws.
The Giants will have to control the clock with their rushing attack while simplifying the offense for Jones with quick passing concepts, pick-rub routes against man (find out coverage pre-snap), and high-low triangle, and quick game concepts against zone.
Jones struggled with zone last season, which led to him holding onto the football a bit too long and contributing to some of his fumbles. This can’t happen against the Steelers, who have two quicker pass rushers going against an inexperienced tackle, and a serviceable starter in Cameron Fleming projected to start on the right side.
Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett must get the ball in space to tight end Evan Engram and running back Saquon Barkley, something they did not do as much of under former play-caller Pat Shurmur.
The under-utilization of both these mismatch nightmares was underwhelming in terms of allowing these players to operate in space. Engram, for instance, was rarely used downfield. A player with his type of speed and athleticism at tight end should not have an aDot (average depth of target) of 6.46 yards, the same as tight ends Nick Boyle (Ravens) and Nick Vannett (Steelers).
Have Engram stretch the seam a bit. Use a Texas concept with Barkley on the angle and Engram up the seam out of either 11- or 12-personnel (note the first number represents the number of running backs on a play; the second the number of tight ends).
You can even have that concept with Barkley on a replacement angle route behind a drag from Sterling Shepard; this would put that hook zone into conflict, and it would force three difficult man coverage assignments for the defense.
Final Thoughts
The key to winning this football game is keeping the Giants defense off the field, controlling the ball with a potent rushing attack, utilizing the mismatches on the roster (specifically Engram and Barkley), and getting the football out of Daniel Jones’ hand in a quick, efficient, manner.
The Giants must also limit mistakes in the red zone by creating traffic against man coverage (pick/rub routes) or by putting specific defenders in conflict when the defense is running zone.
The Giants are currently a 5.5-point underdog at home, and the deck is stacked against them, but they’ll have the opportunity to cement themselves as a legitimate team if they can defeat this Steelers defense.
