Madden 21 Sim: Steelers at Giants, Week 1

The New York Giants are hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night to start their 2020 season. What better way to predict how the game will turn out than simulating it with Madden 21?

The game ended as many are predicting, in favor of the Steelers 20-6. The first quarter featured back-to-back field goals from both teams, and the Giants even held a 6-3 lead in the second quarter.

The Steelers broke that lead with a huge drive resulting in a JuJu Smith-Schuster touchdown catch. Taking a 10-6 lead would be the beginning of an unanswered 17 straight points by the Steelers.

New kicker Graham Gano had a ton of action, kicking his third field goal attempt in the third quarter. Sadly that final kick was just outside his range, leaving the game at 10-6.

The final dagger came in the fourth quarter when the Giants needed a stop. Running back James Connor plowed his way into the end zone at the very end of the third quarter. The Steelers later extended their lead with another field goal.

The low-scoring affair was a difficult one for the Giants young offense and second-year quarterback Daniel Jones. Collectively the offense only mustered 208 total yards, failing to even reach the end zone. The new Giants’ offensive line also struggled, surrendering four total sacks to the Steelers pass rush.

The only player on the Giants offense who finished with a big day was tight end, Evan Engram. Appearing to be open all game, Engram finished with 7 receptions for 97 yards

One surprising stat line that surfaced from the game was Giants pass rusher Oshane Ximines finishing with 1.5 sacks and 1 TFL. For the Steelers, T.J. Watt had 2 sacks.

Tonight at 7:10 p.m. on ESPN, we’ll get to see how accurate this simulation was.