Heinz Field – Pittsburgh, PA
Kickoff: Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET
Line: Pittsburgh -6.0, Total: 48.0

The Giants will be looking to win their seventh straight game when they face the Steelers at Heinz Field on Sunday.

New York is on fire right now, as the team won its sixth straight game with a 27-13 win in Cleveland last week. The Giants were 6.5-point favorites in that one, and they have now covered in five of their past six. One thing that is very impressive with this team is their run defense. New York has not allowed 100 yards on the ground since Oct. 9 against Green Bay. That puts a lot of pressure on opposing quarterbacks. The Steelers, meanwhile, have now won-and-covered in each of their past two games. They went into Indianapolis on Thanksgiving last week and ended up winning 28-7 as eight-point favorites. They also happened to average 147.0 yards per game on the ground in their past two wins, so this will be an interesting matchup against the Giants defense. One trend that favors New York in this game is the fact that Pittsburgh is 11-26 ATS off of two or more consecutive Unders with Mike Tomlin as head coach. Tomlin is, however, an impressive 19-7 ATS in home games where the total is between 42.5 and 49 points as the coach of the Steelers.

The Giants are playing extremely well at the moment and WR Odell Beckham Jr. (65 rec, 915 yards, 8 TD) is on an absolute tear for the team. Expect QB Eli Manning (2,902 yards, 20 TD, 10 INT) to look in his direction often in this game, as Beckham Jr. has now caught eight touchdowns over the past seven games. In three of those contests, Beckham Jr. found the endzone twice. He’ll look to dominate this mediocre Steelers secondary on Sunday. Manning will also do his best to get rookie WR Sterling Shepard (44 rec, 476 yards, 5 TD) involved in this one. Shepard didn’t see a single target in the game against the Browns, and Manning knows that he can’t afford to ignore him moving forward. He’ll make an extra effort to throw some passes his way on Sunday. It’d be nice for the Giants to also get some productive play from RB Rashad Jennings (395 yards, 2 TD). Jennings has rushed for more than 50 yards only four times this season, but three of those occasions have come in the past three weeks. That type of performance would help open up more things in the passing game on Sunday. Defensively, this Giants defensive line will need to keep doing what its doing. New York has been great against the run over the past six weeks and needs to keep Le’Veon Bell in check this weekend.

RB Le’Veon Bell (699 yards, 3 TD) has rushed for 266 yards and two touchdowns over the past two weeks, but things are going to be tough against the Giants on Sunday. New York has been stuffing the run over the course of its six-game winning streak, but Bell must find a way to be effective in this one. Fortunately for him, he can contribute as a receiver when the run isn’t there. Bell has had five or more receptions in seven of the eight games he’s played this year. QB Ben Roethlisberger (2,745 yards, 23 TD, 7 INT) will definitely have no problem finding him either. Roethlisberger will, however, be looking in WR Antonio Brown’s (82 rec, 998 yards, 10 TD) direction first. Brown was insane against the Colts last week, finishing the game with three receiving touchdowns. He’ll be amped up in this game as well, as he definitely wants to show the world that he is better than Beckham Jr. is. Defensively, the Steelers will need to get some pressure on Eli Manning. The Giants running game is not something Pittsburgh needs to be concerned about, so the Steelers can focus their attention on stopping the pass.