Defensive confusion will be key for the Steelers versus the Giants

Peyton knows the Steelers, the Giants’ next opponent, well.

Click the audio link below to hear more from Ben as he previewed the matchup this week with the New York Giants and how excited he is to continue to develop chemistry with Ladarius Green and grow together. It’s a two-week stretch that will answer several questions.

It’s the time of year when the temperatures are dropping in Pittsburgh, but on the football field things are heating up for the Steelers.

Since then the Cowboys have been piling up wins over mediocre to poor competition and while all that matters at the end of the day are W’s in the standings, the Giants need to beat another good team to make believers of us all.

Former Michigan State Spartan Le’Veon Bell remains a dual threat with 699 rushing yards and 57 receptions out of the backfield. But it is telling that, in the latest Bovada odds on which team will win Super Bowl LI, the Steelers (12 to 1) are considered a better bet than the Giants (20 to 1). We’ll have a good idea Sunday evening after these two titans face off.

But over the last two weeks, you rarely see the Steelers with fewer than five guys around the line of scrimmage at the snaps.

Jeff: The Steelers don’t have a dominating defense anymore. Eli believes they are close to breaking out.

Run defenses: Giants. The Steelers were nasty here last season, ranked No. 5 in the league. The days of the stifling defense with Troy Polamalu, Joey Porter and James Farrior are gone, but this defense is growing. “I’ve played long enough where I’ve seen teammates and friends who have retired or had to retire not on their own terms”. The Giants were reigning Super Bowl champions at that point, and the Steelers won their second Super Bowl in a four-year span less than four months later. “It is special to be in contention to make the playoffs, and especially after the last couple being out early”. The rookie wide receiver may want to be careful or he won’t find himself seeing many targets again this week. Having a player like Shepard would certainly help. A fellow multiple Super Bowl victor, Manning, a two time Super Bowl MVP, is seventh in National Football League history with 314 touchdown passes, while Rivers is right behind him with 308 career touchdown passes.

“I’ve got to make them”. However, you have to keep Pittsburgh honest. Bell has also rushed for 146 and 120 yards the last two weeks.

“Yeah, he gave some insight”, Eli Manning said of his brother’s first visit to the team facility. “That’s an awesome competition to have because all three of us have played this game for a long time and been able to do some pretty awesome things in a sport and a position that’s not easy to play”. Like I said, it’s kind of out of my hands. Played ’em in a year ago in the playoffs. Another offensive player the Giants should be concerned with, when looking at their LB corps, is Ladarius Green. “This is why we’re here, for moments like this”, said Burns.

One playing the best football of his still-brief career at a pivotal time.

“That’s always our goal, offense at least, to be the best we can be, 30 points a game, efficient on third downs, red zones, first downs and everything”.

A year removed from a torn ligament in his right knee that forced him to miss the second half of 2015, Bell looks as if he’s all the way back to the All-Pro form he showed in 2014 when he put up 2,215 yards of total offense.