Giants showing signs of coming undone with Pittsburgh Steelers on deck in primetime

PITTSBURGH – The NFL and the Giants generally are ratings-proof for the big television networks, but Monday Night Football’s visit to the Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2) should put that to the test.

Brian Daboll’s Giants (2-5) are in free-fall. They’re six-point underdogs to Mike Tomlin’s team on the road. They’ve scored three points in the first halves of their last two games combined.

And they’re going up against the Yankees’ must-win Game 3 of the World Series in primetime against the Dodgers in the Bronx.

It’s safe to say that even people inside Pittsburgh’s Acrisure Stadium will have at least one eye trained on FOX’s baseball broadcast while they peek at the football on the field and ESPN with the other.

That’s not just about the magnitude of the Yanks’ return home, though. It’s also about the Giants’ irrelevance.

Barring a miracle, they will slide into the race for the No. 1 pick before Halloween and the NFL’s trade deadline for a second straight year.

They were 2-6 at the deadline last year when they traded Leonard Williams to Seattle. A loss on Monday night would drop them to 2-6 before trick-or-treating this fall.

Then they’d have one more home game against the dangerous Washington Commanders remaining before football’s deadline to deal on Nov. 5.

Imagine what the MetLife Stadium crowd could look like for that game if the Giants get smashed by the Steelers in the Steel City.

There were plenty of empty seats up top for last Sunday’s pathetic 28-3 loss to Philly, and if tons of Eagles fans hadn’t crashed the party, it probably would have looked a lot worse.

Assuming a loss Monday, wide receiver Darius Slayton and edge rusher Azeez Ojulari would top New York’s trade candidates if they unloaded players to acquire assets for a second straight year.

It’s not clear, however, that Schoen and Daboll would have the luxury to get rid of those two players, who represent some of the best they’ve got at their positions on the roster.

Slayton is the Giants’ second-best receiver. Ojulari has been their second-best edge rusher.

Co-owner John Mara said in no uncertain terms this week that Schoen and Daboll were safe through the end of the season. He also said he doesn’t expect to make a change in January.

“Obviously we’re all very disappointed with where we are right now,” Mara said at The Paley Center for Media in Manhattan. “But I’m gonna say one thing: we are not making any changes this season. And I do not anticipate making any changes in the offseason, either.

“I still have confidence in both of them,” he added.

That confidence could dissipate rapidly, however, if this situation gets worse. And that’s where this is heading.

Daboll praised Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson this week for creating “explosive plays,” something his Giants offense can’t do. The Giants hosted Wilson on a free agent visit in March but couldn’t guarantee him a starting role, which sent him to Pittsburgh.

Daniel Jones was benched in last week’s fourth quarter, and he took the rare step this week to reveal something that had been said in private: that Daboll had told the team in the locker room Jones would remain the starter.

“I think after the game, he said to the team that I was the starter going forward,” Jones said. “So I’m going through the week preparing to play and play well. But in terms of his plans, it’s a better question for him.”

Left tackle Andrew Thomas is done for the season. Schoen first-round pick Kayvon Thibodeaux is on injured reserve. Schoen first-round pick Evan Neal has been on ice.

Schoen first-round pick Deonte Banks has quit on plays twice in the last four games. Schoen first-round pick Malik Nabers’ attitude and body language after last Sunday’s three-point dud by the Giants was worrisome.

Both Banks’ and Nabers’ behavior went unchecked publicly by Daboll. He stood behind Nabers, and he is starting Banks in Pittsburgh.

The dysfunction is escalating. Last season’s mess had Schoen on the coaches’ headsets for four games and prompted a coaching exodus from Daboll’s staff.

There’s no telling where this year’s train wreck is veering next.

There is clear frustration on the defense, which is weighted down for a second straight year by a horrible offense.

Inside linebacker Bobby Okereke said early in the week of the Giants’ run defense against the Eagles: “They had a really good scheme that we didn’t adjust to. And it’s a chess game, and they beat us in those matchups.”

That was a clear reference to Philadelphia’s scheme trumping New York’s. Two days later, defensive coordinator Shane Bowen stressed that guys need to start making plays.

“Ultimately it takes all 11 [players] doing their job, showing up when they need to show up and then being able to get guys on the ground,” Bowen said. “You don’t want to have to play perfect and rely on being perfect all the time. At some point, like I told the [players] on Monday, it comes down to being able to whoop the guy across from you and show up and make a play.”

Bowen added that “the sooner we can control blockers in the run game, the better off we’re going to be and the clearer the picture is going to be on that second level, third level, whatever it might be.”

That was an allusion to the Giants’ defensive line not doing its job well enough up front in the running game, regardless of Dexter Lawrence’s nine sacks.

None of the trends are in the Giants’ favor Monday.

The Steelers are 21-1 in home Monday Night Football games dating back to 1992, according to The Action Network. Their only loss came to Washington in 2020 when the stadium was empty during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Giants and Jets, who just 37-15 here last Sunday night, are a combined 4-32 straight up in primetime games since 2019. And Daniel Jones is 1-15 in his career at night.

The good news, at least, is that not as many people will see Monday’s game because they’ll be watching the Yankees.

The NFL is unpredictable, too, so anything usually is possible week to week.

Those possibilities for the Giants, though, realistically also include a second straight quarterback benching due to Jones’ $23 million injury guarantee for 2025.

They include a third Banks loaf or another player letting up due to Daboll’s lack of consequences. They include Mara needing to make another statement sooner than he would like.

Because this is bad, and it’s about to get worse.