Any other franchise would be happy about the results they have seen from their team over the past couple of weeks. The Steelers offense has scored over 30 points in back-to-back weeks for the first time in years. Their most recent game against the Jets showed a lot of promising things with Russell Wilson leading the way. Pittsburgh knows better than to feel confident heading into a game they should win.
Mike Tomlin has a bad time when he gets his team ready to play against inferior competition. They show up asleep and try to save themselves at the end. It happened earlier in the year when the Steelers went on the road and got upset by the Colts. Not saying the Colts are a terrible team, but the way Pittsburgh got dominated early in that contest showed the lack of concern.
If the black and gold aren't careful this time around, they could be upset against the visiting Giants. They have lost to worse teams before under Tomlin's tutelage. Hopefully, the Steelers will remain consistent in their preparation from game to game and carry that over to their Week 8 battle. They should be able to win this game and almost every pick and prediction will go their way.
Still Curtain Expert panel predictions has the Steelers rolling vs. Giants
"Coming off an impressive home win in primetime against the New York Jets, the Steelers will look to keep the winning train on track against the other team from New York, the Giants. The Steelers will shine again under the bright lights in primetime." - Eric C Hassel (Steelers 23-17)
" Monday night vs the Giants, Russell Wilson has a career game as the Steelers shred the Giants." - Michelle Kotts (Steelers 45-6)
"Steelers are catching fire after making the switch to Russell Wilson in Week 7 and it's hard to believe that momentum will stop here. The Giants are a team entering desperation mode after a 2-5 start. Meanwhile, quarterback Daniel Jones has two touchdown passes over his last four games and threw for 99 yards against the Eagles in Week 7. Pittsburgh's defense should feast against a team currently -50 in point differential." - Tommy Jaggi (Steelers 26-9)
"Pittsburgh rolled against one New York team in prime time and look to repeat that this week. Wilson now has a game under his belt and shook off some rust throwing for 2 TDs and ran for another. The Steelers should build off last week's ground attack against a bottom 10 rush defense and look to put up 3 straight 30+ points performances. Pittsburgh goes into the bye week rolling to a 6-2 record, beating the Giants." - Brandon Kring (Steelers 31-13)
"The Steelers offense continues to improve and with it being in primetime again this team will be ready to head into the bye week strong. With a struggling Giants team this Pittsburgh defense needs to dominate." - Blaze (Steelers 27-16)
"While the Giants' pass rush could be problematic for Pittsburgh, there isn't much else from the New York roster that inspires much concern. Pittsburgh has soundly handled two teams they were better than on paper in consecutive weeks and I expect they'll do it again." - Jacob Harrison (Steelers 33-10)
"The Steelers can't lose to the Giants, right? This has the makings of a classic looking ahead game to the bye week and tougher second half of the year. I think this game is sloppy, but the Giants play just as poorly." - Andrew Falce (Steelers 23-21)
"The Steelers offense exploded for 37 points (with some help from the defense) last week against the Jets, but they now face a Giants defense that has been quite frisky this season.
The beat up offensive line will need to deal with NFL sack leader Dexter Lawrence and the rest of their strong defensive front. Luckily, the Giants offense is a mess even with the return of rookie sensation Malik Nabers. I think the offense struggles for much of the game, but they do enough to squeak out a win on Monday night." - Shayne Kubas (Steelers 20-13)
Final predictions has Steelers winning with some mistakes
Score Prediction: Steelers 24, Giants 16
With the growing level of difficulty of the Steeler's schedule after the bye week, Pittsburgh needs to win games like these. They need to stack wins on top of each other if they want a shot at making the playoffs when they have to face playoff-level teams during the final weeks of the schedule. Losing this game might not be the end of the world, but it would be a bitter way to enter the off week.
New York comes into this game with one of the worst offenses in football. Daniel Jones has been playing terribly in recent weeks, and the Steeler's defense should be licking their chops. Pittsburgh needs to put constant pressure on Jones throughout this game and force some interceptions. The Giants do have some quality receivers, so they will need to find ways of slowing that group down.
Russell Wilson had a quality performance in his debut, but he will be up against a formidable front with the Giants coming to town. Pittsburgh's offensive line needs to be more consistent. If they can carry over their second-half performance from last week, then this will open things up for Pittsburgh's offense. They can't let New York dictate the line of scrimmage, or it could be an ugly day at the office.
When it comes down to it, very few things are going against the Steelers heading into this Week 8 fight. They almost have the edge in every talent category. Unless a litany of injuries pile up quickly for the black and gold, they should be able to handle the Giants. Expect it to be a little too close for comfort at times, but the Steelers pull away late to secure the win heading into their bye week.