After another horrendous offensive performance, the Pittsburgh Steelers take the turnpike east to face the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 8. With the Steelers sitting at a 2-5 record and the Eagles undefeated, these two teams are clearly trending in different directions. Rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett is still working out the early-career kinks and the defense is already relaying heavily on the depth players to step up. What is now becoming a trend of the season, there is a lot stacked up against the Steelers with no remedy in sight; and this week’s game is shaping up to be no exception to that.
Steelers' George Pickens (#14) makes a one-handed grab in drills in preparation for the Philadelphia Eagles. | Credit: Karl Roser/Pittsburgh Steelers
Let’s take a look at some things we can look forward to when the Steelers take on the Eagles.
MATCHUPS AT A GLANCE
Offense: There continues to be a lot to iron out on offense. Between lackluster play calling, poor schemes, a lack of a strong rush offense, and simply the inability to move the ball downfield, it is almost as though the biggest matchup is the offense versus themselves. However, there are two key players Philadelphia hasn’t seen before who will be leaned on as a large part of the offensive production. The matchup’s we should watch are Najee Harris and George Pickens versus the NFL's fourth-ranked defense.
The Philadelphia defensive front is stout, plain and simple. The offensive line will have their hands full with Jordan Davis, Javon Hargrave, Fletcher Cox, Josh Sweat, and Brandon Graham. After averaging less than two yards per carry against the Buffalo Bills’ top-ranked rush defense, hopefully offensive coordinator Matt Canada can scheme Harris to take advantage of a defense that allows almost 110 yards on the ground per game.
With that said, Harris is also one of Pickett’s favorite red zone targets. Ironically enough, the Eagles allow a touchdown in the red zone roughly 58 percent of the time so far this season. With the offense looking to sustain drives to keep Jalen Hurts off the field, Harris will need to be a big part in that and make himself available to Pickett inside the 20-yard line.
Steelers' Kenny Pickett (#8) and Najee Harris (#22) celebrate a touchdown in Pittsburgh, PA. | Credit: Jordan Schofield/SteelerNation (JSKO_PHOTO Twitter)
Pickens has quietly been having a good season. Although he’s only seen the endzone once, he’s shown that the preseason mini camps, OTA’s, and training camp have blossomed into a strong connection with Pickett. To emphasize that, since Pickett took over the reins under center, Pickens has made 19 catches for 242 yards and a touchdown. With top Philadelphia cornerback Darius Slay most likely covering Diontae Johnson, Pickens will be lined up across from James Bradberry.
Bradberry spends the bulk of his time in shadow coverage, which we heard Pickett say earlier this week he knows he can’t get greedy on soft coverage. In a game that may fall to Pickett needing to pass more, Pickens will find himself in his toughest matchup of his young career and will be put to the test accordingly. He'll be left to find the soft spot in the zone and exploit that. This will definitely be a Pickens’ boom or bust matchup; it’s just a matter of scheming him open to get him opportunities.
Defense: Philadelphia prides themselves on how well they can run the ball. So much so, they’ve ran the ball over 53 percent of the time so far this season. A large part of that trend is their effective usage of the run-pass-option (RPO) scheme of their playbook. With Hurts being incredibly effective with his legs, running back Miles Sanders is an impressive complement to the offensive attack and has given defenses headaches as a part of that. Therefore, the biggest matchup to watch on defense is the Steelers’ defensive front versus the Eagles’ RPO offense.
Steelers' Cameron Heyward (#97) and Heach Coach Mike Tomlin work on the game plan against the Philadelphia Eagles. | Credit: Karl Roser/Pittsburgh Steelers
The defense against the RPO starts up front. With T.J. Watt missing this week’s action, it’ll be Alex Highsmith, Cameron Heyward, and Minkah Fitzpatrick forced to shut it down. Highsmith will likely be the “check” guy that Hurts will be reading to determine if he’ll run, hand-off, or pass the ball. With such a heavy run-first offensive attack, this will lead to Fitzpatrick lining up in the box to provide that extra run support we saw so much of last year.
There will be a lot of selling out against the run this game, which will either win of lose them the game. Heyward will need to apply pressure inside to help alleviate Fitzpatrick’s presence in the box to allow him to play center field on the inevitable deep play action plays. The Steelers don’t necessarily see a lot of RPO offenses, so there isn’t a lot of telling as to how they’ll do, but if they find a way to shut that down, the upset alert will be in full effect.
PREDICTION
The Steelers haven’t done well playing in Philadelphia. The last time they won in the City of Brotherly Love was back in 1965. With how these teams are trending at this point in the season and Watt and Chris Boswell missing this week, it is hard to find confidence in saying Pittsburgh will pull this one out. Prediction, Steelers 17, Eagles, 37.
Steelers' Alex Highsmith (#56) lines up against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Pittsburgh, PA. | Credit: Jordan Schofield/SteelerNation (JSKO_PHOTO Twitter)
FINAL THOUGHTS
There is a lot of history between these two organizations, specifically during the second World War. Due to the large number of football players who left their athletic professions to fight in the war, the Pennsylvania teams merged to become the Steagles during the 1943 season. The team finished 5-4-1 and failed to make the playoffs. Since then, there has been no love amongst the commonwealth brotherhood.
Finally, fans were able to see some history after the first 7 games of the season:
WR George Pickens has caught 26 passes in 2022 which ranks second by a player in Steelers history over their first seven career games played! #YinzFact #HereWeGo pic.twitter.com/7jWsZ9lI8u
— YinzChat (@YinzChat) October 27, 2022
The Steelers’ rookie who has caught the most passes through his first 7 games? We can look no further than Harris last year who tallied 37 catches through that same stretch. For reference, Harris finished with 40 catches after 8 games. Only time will tell in determining if Pickens can surpass Harris’ record of 74 receptions as a rookie.
What are you watching for on Sunday? What do you think the final outcome will be? Let us know in the comments below!
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