Giants vs. Steelers: TV Info, Spread, Injury Updates, Game Time and More

Are you ready for some football?

The Pittsburgh Steelers will host the New York Giants on Saturday night in what’s sure to be an exciting duel between two of the top teams in the National Football League. Pittsburgh is coming off an 8-8 season and New York went 9-7 in 2012, but neither organization made it to the postseason.

Making the playoffs will be the goal once the regular season commences, but for now, each franchise will be looking to get its starters on the field for a bit and then see what its backups are capable of. It may not be the highest-scoring affair you’ll see in the coming weeks, but it’s a matchup worth watching.

Here’s a complete preview for Saturday night’s exhibition between New York and Pittsburgh, with information as to how to tune into the game, the players to watch on each side of the field and a prediction for how it will play out at Heinz Field.

Where: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Penn.

When: Saturday, August 10 at 7:30 p.m. ET

TV Info: NFL Network

Live Stream: NFL Preseason Live

Betting Line: Pittsburgh -3 (via Bovada)

 

Giants Injuries (via ESPN.com)

Out: Jason Pierre-Paul (back)

Probable: Justin Tuck (back), Terrell Thomas (knee), Hakeem Nicks (groin)

 

Steelers Injuries (via ESPN.com)

Out: Plaxico Burress (rotator cuff)

Questionable: Matt Spaeth (foot)

 

Giants Player to Watch: David Wilson, Running Back

If you take a look at the depth chart for the Giants, you’ll notice that the team has a pair of running backs listed as starters: David Wilson and Andre Brown. Both were backups to Ahmad Bradshaw last season, but are expected to compete for the starting job this season now that Bradshaw is no longer with the franchise.

Brown had 385 yards on the ground on 73 carries last year and scored eight times. Wilson got 71 touches, ran for 358 and found the end zone on the ground four times. It should make for an interesting battle throughout the preseason. On Saturday night, we’re going to focus on how Wilson plays.

If Wilson can play well, it should go a long way toward his chances of winning the starting job for Week 1. The Steelers had the second-best run defense a year ago, according to ESPN. The offensive line may have a tough time creating space for Wilson—and the other running backs—making it an intriguing situation.

Sure, it’s only the first preseason game for the Giants, but if Wilson can break a few tackles, block Manning—and the backup quarterbacks—effectively against the Steelers, he could find himself alone on the depth chart come next week. This is a big game for Wilson in terms of determining his role going forward.

 

Steelers Player to Watch: Le’Veon Bell, Running Back

Pittsburgh didn’t have a very effective run game this past season. The Steelers finished the year with the 26th-most rushing yards per game with less than 100 (96.1 per game to be exact) according to ESPN. Jonathan Dwyer led the team with 623 yards and was tied for the team high with a pair of touchdowns.

While the Steelers will likely rely on Ben Roethlisberger to carry the offensive load in 2013, the ground game should be a bit better with Le’Veon Bell expected to get the majority of the carries this year. Bell was one of the top running backs in this year’s draft class, and the Steelers selected him with the 16th pick of the second round.

Bell was a monster for Michigan State last year, rushing for the fifth-most yards in the FBS, according to ESPN. It’s not every year that you get a player on the roster who ran for more than 1,700 yards in college in a single season. He only averaged 4.7 yards per carry, but was still one of the most feared backs in the country.

Bell is going to get carries with the first team on Saturday night, according to Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com. Marc Sessler of NFL.com writes that unless a disaster happens, Bell is bound to be the starter entering the first week of the regular season—noting that Dwyer and Isaac Redman are both still in the mix.

 

Game Preview

Don’t expect the Pittsburgh defense to give up much through the air or on the ground on Saturday night, as it’s about as tough as they come. Eli Manning will get a little bit of work in, but won’t have much success. Wilson will get a couple of carries, nothing for major yardage, and the same goes for Brown.

Ben Roethlisberger will throw for a touchdown on his first of a few series to get the Steelers on the scoreboard. Bell will also be impressive at times, running for more than 50 yards on just a handful of carries. He won’t make it into the end zone, though. Dwyer will be the one who runs it in for six points.

The Steelers will come away with their first victory of the preseason with a double-digit victory over the Giants. Nevertheless, the winner of this exhibition doesn’t really matter. What matters is that everyone stays healthy throughout the duration of the game. It’s impossible to predict injuries, but let’s hope that there aren’t any.

Prediction: Pittsburgh 17, New York 7