Giants vs. Steelers line: Huge change means bet on Big Blue

Ben Roethlisberger’s return from elbow surgery will provide a significant boost for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who open their season on Monday night against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium.

The Steelers went 8-8 last year with poor quarterback play. Pittsburgh was in the playoff hunt in December only because it ranked fifth in scoring defense by allowing 18.9 points per game. The Steelers should win at least 10 games this year, and they should start by winning this one.

But the point spread is now inflated. When Week 1 lines opened in May, the Steelers were 3½-point favorites. The line move to six probably has a lot to do with positive reports about Roethlisberger’s arm strength. The bettors are also fading the Giants, who have a first-year coach, Joe Judge, and some of the same old problems. The defense was a disaster last year, ranking 30th in scoring at 28.2 points per game.

The Giants could be intriguing offensively with running back Saquon Barkley and quarterback Daniel Jones leading the way. Jones had 24 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions as a rookie. If the offensive line is improved — and first-round pick Andrew Thomas is a big help — Barkley and Jones are capable of moving the ball.

The Steelers are 1-6-1 ATS in their past eight games as road favorites, and there’s a chance Roethlisberger will be rusty after about a year off. The selection here is Giants +6.

‘MNF’ Trends

“Monday Night Football” games are some of the most wagered contests every week, as bettors try to play catch-up from the weekend’s games or hope to get a jump on the next week of wagering. With so much money being put into play on “MNF” games, it serves bettors’ interests to have all the ticket-cashing information they can at their fingertips. That always includes a look at the recent history of the games.

Unlike the Thursday and Sunday night games, in which home-field advantage has been prominent, road teams have proven the better option on Monday nights lately. Visitors boast a record of 46-32-3 ATS in the last 81 Monday nighters, good for 59 percent at the betting window. Here are some other “MNF” trends:

•  Home teams on Monday night are on a slide of 5-5 SU and 2-8 ATS (20 percent) in the 10 most recent games.
•  Since 2015, Unders have been the total of choice at 48-34-2 (58.5 percent).
• Home underdogs have not been great bets, going 2-10 SU and 3-9 ATS (25 percent) in their last 12 tries. Games with home underdogs (or pick ’em) also have trended decidedly Under on totals at 16-4-1 (80 percent) in the last 21 games.
• In games pitting the AFC vs. NFC, home teams are 14-13 SU but 7-19-1 ATS (26.9 percent) in the last 27.
• In non-divisional conference matchups, hosts are just 9-21 ATS (30 percent) in the last 30.
• The higher the total, the more the reason to play the road team, as they are on an incredible 11-6 SU and 15-2 ATS (88.2 percent) run in games with totals higher than 50. Neither the Giants-Steelers nor Titans-Broncos totals are that high, but file this information away.