National Tight Ends Day proved to be a fruitful holiday for bettors. The internet was littered with winning tickets of ridiculous odds all based on tight end prop bets. We were no different. Our Tight End parlay (+1976) cashed in a big way. Our Best Bets went 3-1 and overall, it put us up big for the day. Our Best Bets for the week are currently sitting at 3-2. We have a MNF primetime matchup between the Giants and Steelers that has been difficult to predict how the game will play out. The matchup preview is below but first things first, the Best Bet

Best Bets

Alex Highsmith To Record a Sack (-114) FanDuel

Giants @ Steelers

The 2-5 Giants travel to Pittsburgh to take on the 5-2 Steelers. These are two of the most historic franchises in the league, which is probably why we have this matchup in primetime. These teams are trending in opposite directions. The Giants have been riddled with injuries and failed expectations. The fans are calling for a new quarterback and morale is low. Meanwhile, it appears that the Steelers have found their new quarterback after making the switch from Justin Fields to Russel Wilson. They have won 5 games this year with a limited offense and a stout defense. The matchups tonight certainly favor the Steelers so if I were picking the game line, I would lean towards Steelers -6. That is without even mentioning that Daniel Jones has a 1-14 record in primetime.

The Giants offense has been unable to score points this year. They are averaging 14.1 points per game which is 30th in the league. To make matters worse, the offense is without star left tackle Andrew Thomas. The absence of Thomas was evident in last weeks matchup with the Eagles. They recorded 8 sacks and got Daniel Jones benched in the 4th quarter. Daniel Jones does not have confidence when Thomas has been out and it shows. He becomes the skittish version of Daniel Jones that the national media tends to always show. Even with Thomas in the lineup, this offense has not been good. They are 23rd in pass yards per game by averaging 189 yards per game and are 25th in the league in rushing yards, averaging 101 yards per game. They face a tough front four tonight and I do not foresee the Giants being able to operate effectively against them.

The Giants defense has been a bright spot of sorts for this team. They lead the league in sacks. However, they have continuously been put in tough spots by their offense and they cannot be expected to continue to hold teams to under 14 points. As it is, they are averaging 21.3 points allowed per game. They have been losing players left and right as well. Kayvon Thibodeaux has been out for several weeks. Brian Burns and Dexter Lawrence are dealing with injuries. The secondary has a revolving door at CB2. At CB1, Deonte Banks gave up on several plays last week when pursuing Saquon Barkley. That being said, they have been decent against the pass by only allowing 179 yards per game, which is 6th in the league. They struggle against the run and are ranked 25th in the league, averaging 138 yards allowed on the ground. With the Steelers relying heavily on the run, it would seem that this matchup favors the Steelers.

The Steelers offense is built to run the ball. With mobile quarterbacks and two solid running backs, this offense is ranked 9th in rushing yards, averaging 134 yards per game. The run sets up the play action pass. They are ranked 26th, averaging 180 yards per game but they have a new quarterback with Russ Wilson taking the reins. He is coming off of a performance against the Jets where he threw for 264 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 ints. As a whole, this offense has been able to put up points. They are 16th in the league averaging 23 points a game. They will face a banged up Giants defense that struggles against the run.

On defense, the Steelers are once again one of the better units in the NFL. They are 2nd in scoring, only allowing 14.4 points per game. They are ablet o generate pressure with just four rushers. They have TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith coming off of the end while Cam Heyward rushes the middle. That allows their secondary and linebackers to drop back into coverage. Teams have been unable to run against this stout defensive front as they are averaging 81 rush yards allowed per game. That is 3rd in the NFL. They have been weaker against the pass, allowing 217 yards per game, ranking 22nd in the league. I don’t think that will be much of an issue tonight against a struggling Giants offense. Expect the Steelers defense to have a dominant performance tonight.

Best Bet Background – Alex Highsmith to record a sack

This one is going to be pretty simple. The Giants are starting Joshua Ezeudu at left tackle. He is a converted guard and has yet to prove that he belongs in the NFL as a tackle. He let up two easy sacks against the Eagles last week. Highsmith will be lined up against the left side all night. The Giants will have to focus on not letting TJ Wat blow up the right side, so it’s reasonable to think that the blind side is going to get blown up. Highsmith came back into the action last week after dealing with injury and is looking to have a breakout performance. While he only has 1 sack this year, he recorded 7 sacks last year and 14.5 the year prior. He has the ability to get after the quarterback and this is his most favorable matchup of the season so far.