NFL
By: Melo Williams
The battle of Pennsylvania takes center stage in a Week 8 matchup when the Philadelphia Eagles the lone undefeated team in the NFL at 6-0 take on the Pittsburgh Steelers (2-5) at Lincoln Financial Field.
The Steelers are off to their worst start since 2013 and have lost five of six and have experienced growing pains with rookie QB Kenny Pickett and the Steelers are in panic mode.
The offense has been a complete dud regardless whose been under center. Pittsburgh is near the bottom of the league in every major offensive category, including scoring (31st) and total yards (30th).
One of the biggest issues with Pittsburgh’s offense is the lack of big plays. The Steelers are one of three teams without a single run of 20 yards or more.
Now the Steelers face a tough test in a stout Philadelphia defense.
Keys to Victory:
Time of Possession:
Pittsburgh best defense has to be time of possession. Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada must understand the Steelers have to play smash-mouth football. Najee Harris must get 20-plus carries and must be heavily involved in the passing game again to keep that Eagles defense home and honest. The more balanced game Canada calls without all the trick and gadget plays, the better off Pittsburgh will be with a chance to win the game.
Kenny Pickett vs Eagles Pass Defense:
In Picketts first four career games (three starts), he has shown flashes of why Pittsburgh drafted Pickett at 20th overall in the 2022 NFL Draft. He is 4th in the league among qualifying passers with a 68.5% completion percentage.
Turnovers have been a problem for Pickett, who has thrown seven interceptions in 127 pass attempts (5.5%, 2nd in the league), although some of those interceptions were not his fault and were situational football.
Last week against Miami, Pickett and Co. struggled to get the Pittsburgh offense in any sort of rhythm in their Week 7 loss to the Miami Dolphins Sunday night. Pickett engineered two long drives in the fourth quarter to give the Steelers a chance to score a game-winning touchdown, but both drives ended with interceptions including one in the endzone that Pickett should’ve clearly ran the ball that time.
The Eagles defense is elite with a league-leading 14 takeaways including nine interceptions. The Eagles also allow the 5th-fewest passing yards per game in the league (188). Pickett will be challenged by Eagles cornerbacks Darius Slay and James Bradberry throughout the game trying to bait him and that could spell trouble for Pickett who has been turnover prone. Kenny Pickett has to do a better job of protecting the ball if the Steelers want to have a chance to win the game.
Steelers O line vs Eagles D line:
The Steelers can help Pickett protect the ball by protecting him, but that will be a tall order against an Eagles’ pass rush that generates pressure at the sixth-highest rate in the league (25.2% of opponent passing downs).
The Steelers’ offensive line is not what it used to be but has performed reasonably well this season, allowing pressure on 29.2% of its dropbacks through week six (8th in the league). The unit that wins this battle on the line of scrimmage will have a huge impact on the outcome of this game.
Steelers secondary vs Eagles WRs:
The Steelers’ secondary has struggled to slow down opposing wide receivers this year, and one of their top cornerbacks, Ahkello Witherspoon, is questionable with a nagging hamstring injury. The Steelers are 29th against the pass this season and give up the most yards in the league to wide receivers (209.6 per game).
The Eagles’ dynamic wide receiver duo of A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith are each in the top 20 among wide receivers in both catches and receiving yards per game. Among wide receivers averaging at least five targets per game, only three receivers catch the ball at a higher rate than Smith.
Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin has to be ready for the Eagles to try to expose and exploit the Steelers defensive mismatches in this game, which can be big plays and help the Eagles jump out to a big lead.
Side Notes:
The Eagles also bolstered their pass-rushing defense this week by trading with the Chicago Bears for veteran edge rusher Robert Quinn. It’s unknown if Quinn will play in this game.
The Steelers and Eagles have met each other 80 times (including 1 postseason game), with the Philadelphia Eagles leading the series over the Pittsburgh Steelers 48-29. With three games having ended tied 3 times.
The Eagles have won nine consecutive games over Pittsburgh in Philadelphia. The Steelers’ previous win in Philly was a 20-14 victory on Oct. 24, 1965.
