The Steelers (10-3) head east this week to take on the Eagles (11-2) in a battle of two teams looking to solidify their standing as Super Bowl contenders. With a two-game division lead, a win this week against the Eagles — especially with short weeks against the Ravens and Chiefs still on the schedule — could go a long way toward locking down an AFC North crown for Pittsburgh.
What to expect from the Eagles’ offense
Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images
Rushing Y/G: 190.5 (1st)
Passing Y/G: 180.6 (31st)
Points Per Game: 26.3 (8th)
RP: The Eagles are a team that’s hard to make a lot of sense of. Entering the season, there were still lingering bad vibes around the team following last year’s late-season collapse. Questions loomed on what exactly Nick Sirianni does for the Eagles after a tumultuous offseason for the head coach. There were also rumors that the coach didn’t get along with his quarterback, as well as concerns about how the Eagles would replace retiring All-Pro center Jason Kelce.
Entering December, the Eagles are 11-2 and haven’t lost since September. On paper, they look amazing. Philadelphia’s roster is full of talented players on both sides of the ball. That includes Saquon Barkley, whose dominance this season after leaving the Giants and signing with an NFC East rival has been one of the top stories of the season.
The strength of this team is its offensive line. If you’re an NFL draft nut, you’ve likely heard that Steelers assistant general manager Andy Weidl’s vision when hired was to bring some of the principles he learned with the Eagles organization to Pittsburgh. Primarily, that involves a focus on building and maintaining the trenches on both sides of the ball. The Eagles organization deserves some credit for the way it hasn’t missed a beat up front this season after Kelce’s retirement.
Right tackle Lane Johnson is still playing at an All-Pro level. Left tackle Jordan Mailata is a road grater at 6’8 and 365 pounds. Center Cam Jurgens and guard Landerson Dickerson continue the Eagles tradition of drafting and developing offensive line talent. Fellow behemoth Mekhi Becton (6’7, 365 pounds) flamed out with the Jets, but has found new life after kicking inside to guard in Philly.
Stopping the Eagles run game is no easy task because of how well this unit plays. Just look how much room they provide Barkley on a regular basis, and in ways that other teams just don’t have the guys to pull off.
Another explosive TD run for Saquon Barkley – this time off a Gap Scheme concept called ‘Tackle Power'#Eagles had run this with Saquon twice all year before Sunday's game (for a combined 18 yards). This one goes for 25 and a TD
Here's how it happened #FlyEaglesFly
pic.twitter.com/EAE2jIl8FN
— Fran Duffy (@FDuffyNFL) December 2, 2024
And if Barkley is able to get to the second level, he’s got another gear he can reach that is truly unique and special.
Jalen Hurts is no slouch on the ground either. He’s not as explosive of a runner as he was during the Eagles' Super Bowl run during the 2022 season, but he’s still averaging 41.8 yards per game. This season Hurts has 544 yards on the ground, 56 rushing first downs and 13 rushing touchdowns. The Eagles will have Hurts running options and draws, and of course the infamous Tush Push. Keeping the Eagles out of third-and-short and fourth-and-short will be key for the Steelers.
Despite that success on the ground, this offense seemingly still has a lot of the same weird energy that surrounded last year’s team.
Turn on the Eagles passing O tape, and you understand why they're ranked so low despite their personnel.
The answer isn't that Jalen Hurts sucks, really. I don't understand the general design of this offense.
Despite having a great running game, they don't build plays off it.
— Nick Farabaugh (@FarabaughFB) December 11, 2024
The Eagles have stars on their offense in Barkley, Hurts, A.J. Brown and Heisman winner DeVonta Smith — but rank second-to-last in the league in passing. This week, the Eagles have spent a lot of energy answering questions about team chemistry after star wide receiver Brown made it clear he hasn’t been happy with the Eagles passing attack following last week’s 22-16 win over the Panthers.
AJ Brown on what the offense needs to improve on:
“Passing”
Says everything is fixable
Says he slammed his helmet out of frustration after a 3-and-out pic.twitter.com/iSG4MvOpt2
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) December 8, 2024
I think if you asked most teams if they’d be happy with a tandem of Brown and Smith on their team, the vast majority would say yes. But the Eagles struggle to get the ball to anyone else, and that can make their passing attack stagnate. There’s also been plenty of chatter that offensive coordinator Kellen Moore isn’t doing enough in his designs to build solutions for his quarterback when the defense takes away the primary read.
9) So many things I don't like. Could Hurts rip this to AJ Brown? Yeah he could. Is it tight coverage and a difficult throw? Absolutely. So where's the backside route? What else is happening in his line of vision? Why are we keeping a WR in to block a 5-man front?
I'd like… pic.twitter.com/yUVOgejVUg
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) December 9, 2024
I think the Steelers defense matches up really well against the Eagles. Their main focus will need to be limiting Barkley and Brown in space. Both of those players are able to make a checkdown a touchdown on any giving play, so sound tackling will be key this week. If the Steelers can prevent the Eagles from making explosive plays and force them to meticulously drive down the field, they should have a solid chance against an offense that hasn’t faced a defense like the Steelers all year.
The #Eagles offense has faced a historically easy schedule of opposing defenses. By current DVOA rankings:
– Steelers (8th) will be only top 10 defense they face all year.
– A ridiculous 13 (!) of 17 games will have been against defenses ranked in the bottom 12 (not a typo). pic.twitter.com/vNnIBO2QdD
— Deniz Selman (@denizselman33) December 12, 2024
And what about the Eagles’ defense?
Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images
Rushing Y/G: 105.8 (8th)
Passing Y/G: 178.5 (2nd)
Points Allowed Per Game: 18.0 (2nd)
RB: If you think about the Eagles, your first thoughts are probably Saquon Barkley, A.J. Brown, and all the other superstars on the Philly offense. As Ryan outlined already, those players will be significant threats on Sunday. But don’t forget about this Philadelphia defense. They’re allowing the lowest yards per game in the NFL this season, second-best against the pass and eighth-best against the run.
It starts up front, where the Eagles are led by superstar Jalen Carter on the defensive line. He’s joined by some solid talents such as Jordan Davis, Milton Williams, and Josh Sweat.
Earlier this week, we discussed the development of the Steelers’ young offensive line, and Carter will be a huge test for Pittsburgh’s rookie center/right guard combination of Zach Frazier and Mason McCormick. Carter is massive, relentless, and freakishly athletic.
As threatening as the Eagles’ D-line is, they’re a little banged up, with top defensive end Brandon Graham out for the season and edge rusher Bryce Huff still on injured reserve. A great film room from Bleeding Green Nation’s Jonny Page (I’d recommend reading the entire article here) highlighted how teams have been taking advantage of the lack of Graham by playing a lot of 12 personnel (two tight ends) against Philadelphia. This week, I’d expect Arthur Smith, who loves his two-tight end sets, to follow suit.
But the Eagles and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio have adjusted, mixing up defensive fronts and often overloading one side of the line. Panthers quarterback Bryce Young played well last week, but he was under pressure a lot. The Steelers have to be ready.
At linebacker, Philadelphia is benefitting from a fantastic season from Zack Baun, who’s been drawing All-Pro buzz from the national media and Defensive Player of the Year buzz from Eagles Twitter. Watch him play, and it’s easy to see why. Baun checks all the boxes: He’s physical and a sure tacker in run support, a fierce blitzer, and one of the best linebackers in coverage this season.
Zack Baun is the best off-ball linebacker the Eagles have had in the last 10+ years.
Lines up everywhere, asked to do so many things, and excels at all of it. pic.twitter.com/VGIBxCXm7i
— Victor Williams (@ThePhillyPod) November 15, 2024
Baun added 11 tackles and a sack against Carolina. With Baun and Nakobe Dean, the Eagles have an incredibly athletic and physical duo at inside linebacker.
In the secondary, the Eagles have a lot of talent, with first-rounder Quinyon Mitchell and second-rounder Cooper DeJean both starting and playing well at cornerback. Veteran corner Darius Slay Jr. is also still a quality starter, while Philadelphia has a solid but rather up-and-down safety room in C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Reed Blankenship (questionable to play against the Steelers).
It’s worth noting that veteran Panthers receiver Adam Thielen had a good performance against the Eagles secondary and DeJean in Week 14. Thielen’s savvy route running proved to be a struggle for DeJean, who’s athletic but a little stiff as the nickel cornerback. I think there’s a chance the speedy Calvin Austin III could have a good game in the slot against the Eagles.
I’ll also add that this is an aggressive Eagles defense at the line of scrimmage. They come downhill fast on running plays, but it can also open up some weaknesses. Philadelphia was getting through the Carolina offensive line, but if running back Chuba Hubbard could get past the first wave of defenders, there was generally some space to run. I could see the Steelers having some success with the quickness of Jaylen Warren in these situations, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Pittsburgh tries to get the Eagles to bite hard on play-action passes. If Russell Wilson can play calm under pressure, there could be some opportunities downfield.
It’s a winnable matchup, but the Eagles are going to be a tough challenge for the Pittsburgh offense.
Does Philadelphia’s offense or defense worry you more? What matchups will you be watching the closest on Sunday? Let us know in the comments below!
