The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Week 8 matchup between the Steelers and Giants on Monday Night Football.
Find a breakdown of every Week 8 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.
| NY Giants | Rank | @ | Pittsburgh | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.5 | Spread | -6.5 | ||
| 15.0 | Implied Total | 21.5 | ||
| 14.1 | 30 | Points/Gm | 23.0 | 16 |
| 21.3 | 12 | Points All./Gm | 14.4 | 2 |
| 64.7 | 4 | Plays/Gm | 63.1 | 12 |
| 58.4 | 7 | Opp. Plays/Gm | 57.9 | 5 |
| 4.5 | 29 | Off. Yards/Play | 5.0 | 23 |
| 5.4 | 19 | Def. Yards/Play | 5.2 | 9 |
| 40.18% | 26 | Rush% | 53.17% | 2 |
| 59.82% | 7 | Pass% | 46.83% | 31 |
| 43.52% | 17 | Opp. Rush % | 39.01% | 5 |
| 56.48% | 16 | Opp. Pass % | 60.99% | 28 |
- The Giants are 1-15 in primetime games Daniel Jones has started.
- Giants games are 6-1 towards the under, which is the highest rate in the league.
- Pittsburgh has allowed 2.7 scoring plays per game, the second-fewest in the league.
- 52.1% of New York's set of downs reach third down, 28th in the league.
- 52.7% of Pittsburgh's set of downs reach third down, 29th in the league.
- Pittsburgh has a takeaway on 17.6% of their opponent's possessions, fourth in the league.
- The Giants average 1.5 fewer yards per rushing play than their opponents, the worst differential in the league.
- 63.9% of the rushing yards allowed by the Giants have come on runs of 10 or more yards, the highest rate in the league.
- The Giants have allowed 8 runs of 30 or more yards, the most in the NFL. The next closest team has allowed five.
Trust = spike production for that player
Quarterback
Russell Wilson: Sunday night started rough for Wilson, but the magic started to kick in and the Steelers made a handful of plays downfield to jump start this passing game.
Wilson opened the night going 2-of-6 for 19 yards in the first quarter but then went 14-of-23 (60.9%) for 245 yards (10.7 Y/A) with 2 touchdowns for the remainder of the game.
Adding a sneak for a rushing touchdown, Wilson ended the week as QB3 (24.9 points).
The Jets had some injuries, but it was the most fantasy points scored against them since Week 17 of the 2021 season.
On throws 10 yards or further, Wilson was 5-of-7 for 149 yards and a touchdown.
George Pickens made two ridiculous catches while Pat Freiermuth grabbed a one-hander himself, but Wilson pushed the football and gave his playmakers chances to make plays.
While some things feel unsustainable and volatile, Wilson was allowed to make audibles at the line of scrimmage, something Justin Fields was not permitted to do.
To give Russ some extra credit, although there were plays made downfield, this was not the complete “James Harden” offense we saw a year ago from him.
He had the fifth-lowest rate of passes at or behind the line of scrimmage (13.8%) and was 16th in deep throw rate (10.3%).
Sunday was also the first time since Big Ben that the Steelers used their passing game to set up their running game.
For as wild as the outcome seems from last week, Wilson did have 8 QB1 weeks last season over his 15 starts.
It is not always pretty play-to-play, but he does offer upside as a QB2.
This is another spot for him to succeed when he can operate from a clean pocket.
When pressured on Sunday, Wilson was 4-of-11 passing compared to 12-of-18 with his 2 touchdowns when kept clean.
The Giants can create pressure, ranking 6th in pressure rate at 38.7%.
But when the Giants have not pressured the opposing passer, they have allowed a league-high 83.4% completion rate and 8.3 yards per pass attempt (29th).
Daniel Jones: Jones has been a hyper-volatile fantasy player this season.
He has three QB1 scoring weeks and another four weeks as QB24 or lower.
There has been no middle ground.
Jones has thrown for 5.0 and 4.7 yards per pass attempt the past two weeks without a touchdown pass.
In his first game without Andrew Thomas, Jones was pressured on 48.3% of his dropbacks and took 7 sacks.
Jones was pressured on 35.8% of his dropbacks in the first six weeks.
This is a tough spot to use Jones as more than back-end QB2.
The Giants have one of the lowest team totals of the week.
Pittsburgh is 10th in passing points allowed per attempt (0.352).
They have not allowed a QB1 scorer yet this season.
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Running Back
Steelers RBs: This backfield was also interesting on Sunday.
The Steelers used the pass to set up the run for the first time this season.
With that approach, Jaylen Warren played the most we have seen early in a game, seeing 36 snaps in total compared to 33 for Najee Harris.
Harris out-touched Warren 21-to -14 at the end of things, but Harris operated as a closer.
Warren out-snapped Harris 22-to-12 in the first half.
At the end of three quarters, Harris had 11 touches for 32 yards to 9 touches for 45 yards for Warren, the tightest we have seen the split to this point of the season.
Then Harris cleaned up, turning 10 touches into 70 yards and a touchdown in the final quarter.
Harris has rushed for 100 yards with a touchdown in each of the past two games.
This is something to keep tabs on moving forward because up until this stage of the season, Warren was largely unusable in fantasy.
We still do not know if he has touchdown equity at all, but he can at least be entertained as an RB3/FLEX option.
The Giants are also 22nd in receiving points allowed per game (9.7) to backfields.
If Harris is just a closer or the grinding back, there is still plenty of opportunity here as an RB2 as a home favorite against this Giants defense.
The Giants have allowed 5.3 yards per carry to running backs (31st).
Giants RBs: We came into last week wondering if Tyrone Tracy had done enough to disrupt this backfield with Devin Singletary coming back from injury.
That was true for at least one week with Tracy out-snapping Singletary 37-to-12.
The touch count (9-to-6) was tighter in favor of Tracy, but this backfield has turned into a timeshare on the surface.
That is not good for us since this offense does not project to score many points, especially in this spot on the road.
The Steelers are allowing only 3.5 yards per carry to running backs (fourth).
If looking for an out for Tracy as a pass catcher, Pittsburgh is 28th in receiving points allowed to backfields.
Tracy is a low-ceiling FLEX in full PPR while Singletary is a touchdown-or-bust option.
Wide Receiver
Malik Nabers: Nabers returned to the field after missing the past two games with a concussion.
For the first time since Week 1, Nabers was swallowed by the ineffectiveness of this offense, catching 4-of-8 targets for 41 yards.
Sunday was a reminder that he is not completely immune to quarterback play, something we got comfortable with after he was printing targets Weeks 2-4.
It is still hard to hide from the opportunity Nabers has weekly.
Nabers still had 29.6% of the targets and he has not dipped below 8 targets in a game this season.
We should expect volatile weeks based on his quarterback situation, but his usage is still among the best at the position.
He still averages 12.0 targets per game.
You are using Nabers as a WR1 in leagues. The only way this matchup comes into play is how you are handling DFS.
The Steelers are second in points allowed per game to opposing WR1 targets (8.8).
They have not faced a ton of great quarterbacks, but Garrett Wilson (5-61-0), CeeDee Lamb (5-62-0), and Drake London (2-15-0) are part of that sample.
They did allow 6-113-0 to Michael Pittman as a carrot for upside.
George Pickens: Pickens put on a contested catch clinic on Sunday night on his way to catching 5-of-9 targets for 111 yards and a touchdown.
Pickens had a 44-yard deep ball where he fought off a defender and collected the target with one hand.
On his 11-yard touchdown, he plucked an underthrown ball from Isaiah Oliver and then had a 37-yard catch that was tipped and kicked by Oliver before getting to Pickens.
The game was similar to what we saw a year ago from Russell Wilson and Courtland Sutton.
Wilson will give Pickens a chance to win, which is significant.
From a usage stance, Pickens is already a high upside play per target.
He has 29.6% of his team targets, WR2 on the season. His 2.49 yards per team pass attempt is good for WR4. His 2.52 yards per route run is good for WR7.
The team passing volume is when things trickle down.
His 7.6 targets per game dip to WR19.
The issue is that he is running 26.9 routes per game, which is WR58.
With Wilson, Pickens is an upside play on the WR2/WR3 line.
This should be a good spot for him to take advantage if the Steelers are pressed to throw the football.
The Giants mix in Cover 1 for 23.2% of passing downs (9th) and will give Pickens shots to win 1-on-1 like A.J. Brown did last week.
Against man coverage, Pickens has been targeted on 33.3% of his routes, WR8 on the season.
The Giants are also 25th in points allowed to WR1 targets (16.4 per game).
Wan’Dale Robinson: Robinson did his WR Zach Ertz thing again on Sunday, catching 6-of-9 targets for 23 yards.
Robinson is now only averaging 7.0 yards per catch, but he is averaging 9.6 targets per game, which is third in the league.
Robinson is ground zero for pushing back on full-PPR formats.
He is WR28 in PPR points per game (12.4) and the WR37 in 0.5-PPR (9.3).
Robinson is a floor-based WR3/FLEX.
The Steelers are allowing 5.1 catches per game to slot receivers (22nd) to keep Robinson active.
Tight End
Pat Freiermuth: Freiermuth made a sweet catch for a 30-yard reception on Sunday night, but his usage did not change much with the changeover to Russell Wilson.
Freiermuth only had 3 targets which he turned into 2 catches for 51 yards.
He has not had more than 3 targets in a game since Week 4 and has only one game this season with more than 4 receptions.
Darnell Washington (4-36-0) out-targeted him on Sunday.
Freiermuth is a touchdown-dependent streamer.
The Giants have allowed an 84.9% catch rate to tight ends (31st) but have yet to allow a touchdown to the position.
More Week 8 Fantasy Breakdowns From The Worksheet:
| Matchup | Time |
|---|---|
| Vikings @ Rams -- FREE | Thursday Night Football |
| Eagles @ Bengals | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Ravens @ Browns | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Titans @ Lions | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Cardinals @ Dolphins | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Jets @ Patriots | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Falcons @ Bucs | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Packers @ Jaguars | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Colts @ Texans | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Saints @ Chargers | Sunday -- 4:05 p.m. ET |
| Bills @ Seahawks | Sunday -- 4:05 p.m. ET |
| Panthers @ Broncos | Sunday -- 4:25 p.m. ET |
| Chiefs @ Raiders | Sunday -- 4:25 p.m. ET |
| Bears @ Commanders | Sunday -- 4:25 p.m. ET |
| Cowboys @ 49ers | Sunday Night Football |
| Giants @ Steelers -- FREE | Monday Night Football |