The New York Giants are preparing to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday, which will be week one of the 2020 regular season. A revised training camp has imposed its challenges for the Giants and the rest of the NFL, as without a preseason, rookies will have a more tumultuous time adapting to the physicality and athleticism of the pros.
Ultimately, we might see a low-quality week across the league, in terms of football performances, but teams should shake the rust off rather quickly.
However, the Giants have more problems then the uncontrollables listed above. The Steelers represent a dominant defense with a quality offense, and it will take every last ounce of effort to overcome them in the regular-season opener.
Three bold predictions for the New York Giants against the Pittsburgh Steelers:
1.) Andrew Thomas will hold his own
Andrew Thomas struggled in training camp at times, notably against Lorenzo Carter in their first intrasquad scrimmage (2 sacks allowed). Without much live-action to work off of, Thomas was thrown into the fire against some of the Giants’ better pass rushers. He held his own against Leonard Williams, a player far superior to his experience and size, and put together some solid film work to develop from.
However, the lack of preseason games makes his job even more difficult. He will face off against Bud Dupree, who tallied 11.5 sacks in 2019. The Steelers’ pass-rush is one of the best in the NFL, with Dupree and TJ Watt totaling 26 sacks.
In his rookie debut, I predict that Thomas will hold his own and perform well to start his NFL career. Coming from Georgia, Thomas was dominant when it came to game performances, but the NFL is a different beast. The Giants have already stated that Evan Engram will help chip block on the left side, giving him some support. I think he will fare better than we imagine.