The Steelers need a win in Week 13 to stake their claim as the best team in the AFC North. It won’t be easy with the NFC’s second-best team coming to town.
Giants vs. Steelers live stream: How to watch Week 13 matchup online
Two quarterbacks. Four Super Bowl rings between them. One winner.
Pittsburgh will host the 8-3 New York Giants in a pivotal cross-conference showdown with major postseason implications. New York needs a clutch road upset to continue its difficult quest of chasing down the 11-1 Cowboys and overtaking them for the top spot in the NFC. The Steelers need a win to stay afloat in the North as a Week 16 revenge date with division leader Baltimore looms.
Neither team is a stranger to the postseason, thanks in part to the veteran quarterbacks at the helm. Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning each have a pair of Super Bowl titles to their credit. With 26 combined years of NFL experience between them, they won’t offer many surprises for opposing defensive coordinators — just consistent play and a constant offensive threat.
Manning has his Giants within striking distance of the playoffs despite a rushing offense that ranks second-to-last in the NFL. He’s completing a career-high 63.2 percent of his passes in his age-35 season and is on pace for a typically solid 4,200-yard, 30-touchdown campaign.
A big part of his proficiency can be attributed to the All-Pro wideout who has become his favorite target. Odell Beckham Jr. snapped out of an early-season funk to provide one of the league’s most dynamic receiving threats. After being held scoreless in his first four games and taking his frustrations out on a kicking net, he’s since scored eight touchdowns in his last seven games.
Beckham suffered a minor thumb injury last week in a win over the Browns, but is expected to be back at full strength on Sunday.
A hobbled Beckham would be a boon for an overtaxed Steelers secondary. Pittsburgh’s defense has allowed opposing quarterbacks to throw for more than 263 passing yards per game while completing more than 64 percent of their passes — two marks that rank in the league’s bottom third. While the Steelers held Indianapolis and Cleveland to a combined 16 points the previous two weeks, those wins came against starting quarterbacks Cody Kessler and Scott Tolzien.
Manning will be a significant step up, and that will put the Steelers’ recent two-game winning streak in jeopardy. Pittsburgh is 0-2 this season against teams whose quarterbacks have Super Bowl rings — though those losses came in games Roethlisberger either missed (vs. New England) or wasn’t 100 percent for (vs. Baltimore).
Roethlisberger has vacillated between explosive performances and forgettable outings this fall. Pittsburgh rises and falls with him. The team is 2-4 when he either doesn’t play or posts a sub-85 passer rating. When he’s in the lineup and playing well, that mark rises to 4-1, with a heartbreaking loss to the NFL-best Cowboys standing as his lone defeat.
The Steelers will need him to play like a champion on Sunday to keep their AFC North title hopes alive.
How to Watch New York Giants vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Time: 4:25 p.m. ET
Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh
TV: FOX
Announcers: Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, and Erin Andrews
Online: Sunday Ticket, Fox Sports Go
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