A slip-up in the AFC North pushes the door more open for Pittsburgh…
while the Yanks need to seize on their own shot.
Steelers’ MNF Opportunity
What Happened: Even though the Pittsburgh Steelers still haven’t taken the field yet for Week 8, Sunday was a big day for the black and gold. The Bengals got handled at home by the Eagles to fall to 3-5, dropping their playoff odds under 30%.
And while the Browns did win in their first post-Deshaun Watson game, that victory came at the expense of Pittsburgh’s main competition for the AFC North crown, the Ravens. Baltimore, who had reeled off five straight wins and looked like the class of the AFC after a slow start, fell to 5-3 and lost a crucial intradivision matchup.
Why It Matters: With a win over the lowly Giants tonight, the Steelers can go a full game clear of Baltimore and boost their own odds to capture the AFC North crown for the first time since the 2020 season.
ESPN’s Football Power Index still likes the Ravens as of this morning, giving John Harbaugh’s team a 61% chance to win the division. Mike Tomlin’s Steelers are a good ways away at just 35%, although their playoffs odds are a robust 83%.
In the end, divisional records are going to tell the story here, and Pittsburgh hasn’t played any of its rivals in the North yet. But banking wins when your division mates lose is never a bad thing, and if Tomlin and Co. are a full game ahead at the (almost) halfway point of the season after Monday Night Football, they’ll have to be considered a better than 1/3 shot to end the season atop the standings.
What We’re Watching Today
Giants at Steelers (8:15 PM ET) – If you like old-school football (or just bad offenses), don’t miss this one! The Steelers have given Justin Fields and Russell Wilson at crack at starting QB duties, and if you can tell them apart by how the offense has functioned, no you can’t liar. As for the Giants, it’s Malik Nabers and not a whole lot when Big Blue have the football. Prepare yourself for lots of running back play and third-and-longs tonight.
Dodgers at Yankees (8:08 PM ET) – Five runs in two games is not gonna get it done for the Bronx Bombers, and 1-for-9 with six strikeouts is really not gonna get it done for Aaron Judge. A win at home will give New York confidence the series is progressing as planned; falling down 0-3 is a death sentence.
The Look Ahead
Jaylen Warren ANYTIME TOUCHDOWN – It’s been a slow 2024 for Warren, who battled injuries during training camp and was inactive for two games already this season. But in Pittsburgh’s win over the Jets last week, Warren was on the field for over 50% of the snaps on offense for the first time, and got 12 carries and caught the ball out of the backfield twice. The Giants have a bottom-10 rush defense, and we know this version of the Steelers wants to establish and stick with rushing the ball. That should mean plenty of touches for Warren, even with Najee Harris to compete with carries for.
