The Giants lost their season opener Monday night while learning the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense is as good as advertised. How good? The unit limited the Giants to 29 rushing yards, sacked Daniel Jones three times and intercepted two of his passes and made almost every snap a challenge for Jason Garrett’s offense.
The result was a 26-16 loss in Joe Judge’s head coaching debut in MetLife Stadium.
The Giants have lost four consecutive season openers. Ben Roethlisberger, who played only six quarters last season, returned to throw three touchdown passes, including two to JuJu Smith- Schuster. Big Ben was not intercepted.
Saquon Barkley will not fondly recall this game. With few holes to charge through and a Steelers defense dedicated to stopping him, Barkley carried 15 times for just six yards, his second-lowest total in a full game (he ran for one yard vs. the Jets last Nov. 10).
The Guy Report 