Giants Country

New York Giants - Pittsburgh Steelers Gameday Blog

Follow along with the Giants Country staff as we track the highlights, stats, and observations from tonight's Giants-Steelers Monday Night Football matchup.
Jackson Thompson|
New York Giants - Pittsburgh Steelers Gameday Blog
New York Giants - Pittsburgh Steelers Gameday Blog

Nothing ever comes easy. But if life were always easy, what fun would that be?

Well, if you’re the New York Giants, a team that began the last decade with a bang and finished it with a whimper, you want to earn everything you get moving forward because you put in the time to work for it.

That, at least, is head coach Joe Judge’s message to a group of players who have already have shown themselves to be closer as a team than some groups that have been together for years.

“We have to make sure on our part that we play smart football, we don’t make mistakes that cost us, and we avoid the things that set ourselves back,” Judge said of the general plan to get this new era of Giants football off to a positive start for the first time since 2016.

“We have a tough enough opponent with Pittsburgh coming in here. We can’t go ahead and set ourselves back to begin the game. Really to me, it’s about being fundamentally sound in how you approach it, being a smart decision-maker on the field, and that ties into penalties as well.”

The Giants players have echoed Judge’s message, but as a certain head coach long before Judge used to like to say, “Talk is cheap; play the game.” 

The deck is stacked against the Giants who host the Steelers on Monday Night Football, but all is not necessarily lost as the Giants look to quiet the critics who have snickered all summer about Judge and his coaching methods.

Join in on the discussion below with your fellow Giants fans as led by Giants Country writer Jackson Thompson (@Jacksonbht) who will bring you updates throughout the game.

You can also follow our various editorial team members, including senior editor Patricia Traina (@Patricia_Traina), Pat Ragazzo (@RagazzoReport), Nick Falato (@nickfalato), Mike Addvensky (@MikeAddvensky), and Gene Clemons (@geneclemons) for updates as well.

Pregame

The Giants could be breaking in as many as 13 new starters against the Steelers tonight from last year's opener. 

Rookie left tackle Andrew Thomas, center Nick Gates and right tackle Cameron Fleming make up the Giants' newest offensive line additions while quarterback Daniel Jones will be making his first Week-1 NFL start as the Giants' full-time starting quarterback. 

Meanwhile, the defensive side of the ball is seeing nearly a complete turnover from last years' Week-1 starting defense. Inside linebackers Blake Martinez and Devante Downs, cornerbacks James Bradberry Corey Ballentine, Darnay Holmes and Logan Ryan, safety Julian Love, edge rusher Oshane Ximines, and defensive tackle Leonard Williams are all new faces on the Giants' starting lineup from last year. 

The final injury report has revealed that seven Giants and six Steelers have been ruled out of tonight's game. 

For the Giants, Tate, linebackers T.J. Brunson, Cam Brown and Tae Crowder, offensive guard Shane Lemieux, offensive tackle Jackson Barton and defensive end RJ McIntosh will not take the field.

Tight end Levine Toilolo, who was listed as questionable with a hamstring issue for the Giants' Saturday injury report, is active for tonight's game. 

For the Steelers, quarterback Josh Dobbs, running back Anthony McFarland, linebacker Ulysees Gilbert, defensive lineman Carlos Davis, offensive guard David DeCastro and tight end Zach Gentry have been ruled out.

With Tate out, wide receiver Damion Ratley could finally get some opportunities to break out in tonight's game. 

As a seventh-round draft pick in 2018 by the Cleveland Browns, Ratley has solid NFL speed, evident by his 4.44 40-yard dash and 23.1 yards per reception average during college. 

Ratley didn't have the opportunities in Cleveland to make an impact, only playing 25% of offensive snaps. Still, he was still able to rack up 344 and a touchdown with limited opportunities in his two-year stint with the Browns. 

Now with Tate out, Ratley could be a sound fit in the slot for the Giants offense and could give Jones a fast substitute for Tate.

Head coach Joe Judge broke down the Giants' huddle, which is often unusual for head coaches. 

The Giants stood on the endzone during the playing of Lift Every Voice and Sing, while the Steelers waited in the locker room. 

During the National Anthem, the Steelers stood in unison holding a banner that read "Steelers Against Racism" while the Giants let their players individually decide to either stand or kneel. 

First Quarter

The first offensive play of the Joe Judge era is a Jones completion to Sterling Shepard for a first down.

Tight end Evan Engram drops his first target of the season. 

Daniel Jones has had a pretty clean pocket on the first few plays of the game. Able to make three passes, completes two of them and the Giants has two first downs to open the drive. 

C.J. Board makes his first completion of the game, look for him to get a decent amount of looks with Tate out. 

Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson muffs the first punt of the game and the Giants have the ball at the doorstep of the Steelers' endzone. 

Giants' offense misses a huge opportunity at the goal line, a miscommunication between Jones and tight end Evan Engram is the difference. Giants settle for a 21-yard Graham Gano field goal.

The last Monday night football game the Giants played was at home against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 8 last season. Like the game tonight, the Giants got an early turnover at the opponent's goal line but could not punch it in and had to settle for three. The Giants' swing momentum for a moment but they left some meat on the bone again. 

Giants can't get Barkley going in the run or pass game. Barkley represents a big part of the team's offense. If they can't get him going, that's a big part of their gameplan gone. 

The Steelers' longest drive of the game so far falls short of the Giants' redzone and they settle for 41-yard Chris Boswell field goal. The Giants defense bends but doesn't break.

The first-quarter expires with the Giants on offense facing a 2nd-and-9 in a 3-3 game.

Second Quarter

The Giants have gotten some opportunities so far in this game, missed some, took advantage of some and they are sitting in an advantageous position to make some quick adjustments on offense and drive down the field to retake the lead. 

The Steelers defense continues to dominate the Giants' rushing attack. The Giants' were expected to lean heavily on their running game tonight and it hasn't paid off, yet they're tied. 

Jones completes a 43-yard touchdown strike to Darius Slayton for the first Giants' touchdown of 2020. Jones completed six touchdowns to Slayton in their rookie seasons last year and they ar becoming an explosive quarterback/wide receiver tandem early in their careers. 

Giants lead 10-3.

The Giants defense forces another three-and-out. All three levels of the Giants' defense are playing in unison and have shown good chemistry. Didn't look this cohesive as a unit against any offense as good as Pittsburgh's last year. 

Jones throws his first interception of 2020 to Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt, who caught Jones off guard by dropping into coverage and showing great ball skills. 

The Giants' newest cornerback Isaac Yiadom gets beaten by Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster for the Steelers' first touchdown on a Roethlisberger loft to the endzone. The Steelers miss the extra point attempt however as Boswell's kick bounces off the upright. 

Giants lead 10-9. 

Saquon Barkley hasn't been able to get anything going on the ground but takes a screen pass for his longest gain of the day on a 38-yard catch and run.

The right side of the offensive line, particularly Fleming, has been an issue for the Giants tonight. It hasn't been able to hold up in the running game and Fleming has a false start penalty as well. 

Defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence gets his first sack of 2020 to bring Roethlisberger down on second down. Outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter contributed by getting the initial tug on Roethlisberger. The Giants' defense forces another three-and-out.  

Jones was under heavy pressure and slips out of the pocket holding the football with both hands. Jones shows a conscious awareness to protect the football and improve his fumbling problem from last season. 

Roethlisberger completes a pass over the middle to Steelers wide receiver James Washington, who powers through Giants safety Julian Love into the endzone to give the Steelers' their second touchdown of the game as they take a 16-10 lead with seven seconds left in the first half. 

Steelers lead 16-10

Halftime

In the first half of the Joe Judge era, the Giants have shown a lot of the issues from last year's team, not all of the problems, but some. 

The main issue has continued to be the Giants getting dominated at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.

The Giants' offensive line has been unable to run the ball and keep Jones protected.

The Steelers have two sacks, but have pressured Jones many more times. However, Jones has handled the pressure well so far, showing mobility in the pocket and accuracy under pressure. Jones has completed 9/16 passes for one touchdown and one interception and no fumbles. 

However, the Steelers' defensive front has dominated the Giants on the ground as the Giants have -3 rushing yards as a team, which matches Barkley's total. 

Engram has also struggled with zero catches on three targets including a couple of drops.

Outside of the Jones touchdown pass to Slayton, the rest of the offense has been the as unproductive as could have been expected against Pittsburgh's defense. 

The Giants defense has been the better of the two units, but was unable to finish the half strong. After a shaky start to the game, Roethlisberger has settled in and finished the half completing 12/21 passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns. 

Lawrence is the only Giant with a sack. 

The Giants coaching staff, particularly offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, will need to make some serious adjustments at halftime if the Giants can hope to come back in the second half.

Third Quarter

Bradberry stays stride-for-stride with Washington on a deep pass by Roethlisberger to break up a pass and force a three-and-out. The Giants defense starts the second half with a stop. 

Jones and the Giants offense will get another chance to answer as they only trail by six points. 

The Jones and Slayton connection to be the one thing that the Giants' offense can lean on, as the Jones picks up a big 3rd-and-14 conversion on a strike to Slayton. 

Jones made one of the most dramatic two-yard passes on 4th-and-1. On a play-action, Jones rolled to his right and threw across his chest to complete a pass to Barkley and convert on fourth down.

The longest Giants drive of the night was just not meant to be, as Steelers linebacker Bud Dupree makes contact with Jones just as he releases a pass, and defensive lineman Bud Dupree comes down with the interception. 

Giants defensive tackle Leonard Williams gets a sack on Roethberger on first down to force the Steelers' defense back behind the Giants' 30-yard line. Williams surpasses his entire 2019 sack total with the play, and the Steelers will have a 3rd-and-22 to start the fourth quarter. 

Steelers lead 16-10.

Fourth Quarter

The Steelers get a 37-yard field goal to take the first two-possession lead of the game. 

Steelers lea 19-10.

Down multiple possessions in the fourth quarter is the type of situation the Giants needed in this game to prove they are different from last year's team.  

The Giants offense can't respond is forced to punt with time running out. 

The Giants' bid at a comeback may have ended as Roethlisberger finds Smith-Schuster for an eight-yard touchdown pass to put Pittsburgh up by 16. 

Steelers lead 26-10.

The Giants salvage a touchdown in the last two minutes of the game as Jones connects with Slayton for the receiver's second touchdown of the night, and the only two caught by the Giants in this game.

Steelers win 26-16.

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Jackson Thompson
JACKSON THOMPSON

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