#10. New York Giants (8-3) @ Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5)

They still remain two games back in the NFC East and even if they beat the Cowboys in two weeks, they also have to play the Pittsburgh Steelers, Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins. New York DE Jason Pierre-Paul had three sacks last week vs. Cleveland to become seventh Giant to reach 50 career sacks. Ben McAdoo asserted this week that the Giants have very little wiggle room when it comes to results from here on.

“We’ve been doing what we need to do to win games”, he said. “This is where our identity needs to take over”. It’s no surprise since Pittsburgh has always been a solid home team, especially under quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

Despite a 6-5 record, the Steelers are still an elite team.

This year, the Steelers’ offense revolves around Roethlisberger and the passing game even more than in the past, with the unit near the bottom of the league in most rushing statistics. In the second road loss this season, Ben injured his knee right before halftime against an underrated Miami defense and limped through the second half, and it must also be mentioned the Steelers had lost their starting No. 2 WR, Sammie Coates, who was filling in for an injured Markus Wheaton, who was filling in for a suspended Martavis Bryant. Bell leads all National Football League running backs with 57 receptions, despite missing the first three games while serving an National Football League suspension. 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. “He’s tough”, Giants safety Landon Collins said this week.

Jeff: To be honest I really liked Sterling Shepard in this year’s draft.

Can the Steelers keep their playoff hopes alive with a big win over Big Blue this Sunday? According to the New York Times on November 29, 2016, the elder Manning visited the Giants complex on Tuesday and met with players and coaches. “It’s the first time I’ve been around him”.

The Giants still have a shot at the division crown.

“That would be great”, Vereen said.

“I would assume all three of us would say that”. It’s up to the progression, up to the doctors.

Their interactions are mostly limited to short conversations after their teams play against each other, which means they are barely acquaintances, let alone friends. The Giants would likely need to navigate without a home game against an overall more daunting field.

“That’s big time”, rookie wide receiver Roger Lewis said of meeting Peyton Manning.

If Manning is smart, he will try to expose the inexperienced cornerbacks of the Steelers.

“What we were trying to do and the coverages that we were getting, we had other guys that were the primary”, he said.

However, Burns does acknowledge Beckham’s ability to make big plays, so he plans to stifle Beckham early. “We have to execute well, play smart and make the plays that are there”.

“He’s going to make plays”, Burns said. It’s time to go out and play football and do anything you can to win a football game, whether it’s 50-0 or 2-0. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Peyton left the game on his terms. Only three times in Roethlisberger’s 13 years has he played all 16 games in a season. “It doesn’t feel good”.

The 40-year-old must be sweating a lot this season as the Giants (8-3) have been tangled in a lot of close games, although they’re winning them whereas in 2015 they suffered repeated late-game collapses. Why do you think he is so good in Pittsburgh?

“I’m just kind of used to playing”, Bell said.

“Honestly, and no disrespect to them, the city or the team, I don’t really care. I have to really lock in the focus of where you’re placing your hands”.

If you’ve been following the commercials this season, you know where future Hall of Famer quarterback Peyton Manning has been spending most of his time lately: on the couch, watching football. I’ve always tried to be a resource for him. The Steelers are 10-1 SU and 9-1-1 ATS in their last 11 December games. They’re going to get the ball; the Giants must limit their effectiveness when they do. That’s just the way the day kind of went. Look for more of this confusion style of defense against the Giants and wee if Manning can sort out where the pressure is coming from. Pittsburgh LB James Harrison has four sacks in the past four games and is the franchise leader with 78.5 sacks.