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Your In-Depth Eagles vs. Steelers Week 3 Preview

Adrian Fedkiw|

It’s just the Cleveland Browns.

It’s just the Chicago Bears.

On Sunday, it’ll just be the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Browns, Bears and Steelers, OH MY! A potential 3-0 record going into a way-too-early bye week headed by an FCS quarterback who’s audibling at the line of scrimmage, showing complete command and comfort in the pocket and throwing not only dimes but quarters too. Carson Wentz has left Philadelphia salivating for more each week.

BUT THERE IS NO NEXT WEEK! #FirstWorldProblems

Anyway, Pittsburgh’s confidence and bravado has the Steel City fired up. Even without Le’Veon Bell, The Steelers are 2-0 with a blowout win over the Washington Redskins in their opener at FedEx Field and a thorough home beatdown of the Cincinnati Bengals before holding them off at the end last Sunday afternoon.

They look good and are even on the top of some NFL Power Rankings and many of the masses that wave those Black and Yellow rags, which are better suited for deep sea tuna trips, are feeling assured that a victory is upon them on Sunday.

It’s a certainty.

But maybe not so fast. Check out this great stuff from our own Nick Piccone; the Steelers haven’t won in the city of Brotherly Love in 50 years.

Courtesy of your Eagles media guide, Pittsburgh hasn’t won in Philadelphia dating back all the way to 1966. The Eagles have boasted an undefeated 8-0 record against Pittsburgh in games in Philly.

The Eagles also have the best record against the Steelers since 1960, with a 17-9-2 record overall. So when people are trying to tell you the Steelers are such a better team than the Eagles and Carson Wentz will come back down to earth and actually, you know, play like a rookie, then you can throw these stats at them.

It’s far from a certainty.

We’ll find out Sunday. Let’s check out the game inside the game.

EAGLES PASSING GAME VS. STEELERS PASS DEFENSE

PHI- 94.1 Passer Rating (15/32), 225 YPG (24/32)
PIT- 79.2 Passer Rating allowed (10/32), 348 YPG allowed (31/32)

Wentz passed his first test of Browns defensive coordinator Ray Horton and his aggressive play-calling where he blitzes from everywhere. Then in Week 2 against a more coverage-based scheme with different types of disguises in Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, Wentz navigated his way through.

The pressure’s even more on Wentz in Week 3, because now the test is being able to keep pace with the high-powered Steelers in a potential shootout. He’s going to take more chances in this game in the intermediate and deep range because he’s going to have to keep pace with Big Ben. The Browns offense wasn’t a test for the defense and Wentz helped the Eagles hang around for two-plus quarters against Chicago until the defense forced three turnovers in about 15 minutes to put that game away.

Here’s how Wentz came out last week against Chicago on his first drive. The march took 13 plays and 7:26 off the clock. Wentz converted a 4th-and-2 and also a 3rd-and-7. He slowly matriculated the ball down the field, racking up just 45 yards on 8-of-9 efficiency.

A high-scoring affair features about 14-to-16 possessions, but if the Eagles can limit the number of touches for each team to 10 or less, that’s what might help them win the game. If they play patient ball for three quarters and are within striking distance, open up the playbook and let the kid try and out-duel Roethlisberger in the fourth. He’s thrown the ball 30-plus times in each of his first two starts, the first to do that in 50 years by the way; his first 40-plus game might be on the horizon Sunday.

Trey Burton stepped up in the absence of starter Zach Ertz and caught five passes for 49 yards and a touchdown. Ertz, who missed Monday’s game with a rib injury, put up 58 yards on six receptions in the opener. Burton missed that game due to an injury. That’s not much of a difference. And the depth at tight end is encouraging with a lack of depth at wide receiver.

Jordan Matthews is a bright spot, racking up 185 yards and a score on 13 receptions, but he tugs on the heart strings when he does stuff like this.

Nelson Agholor has shown some glimpses in two games, while Dorial Green-Beckham continues to have his snaps limited. Josh Huff hasn’t done much either. The Steelers like to blitz up the middle and leave their cornerbacks in man coverage. How about a lob up to DGB?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psfuTmdOGqM

Doug Pederson explained what sort of tricks the Steelers might have up their sleeve for Wentz.

The biggest thing really, and it’s what you see on film, is the aggressive style. I mean, they love to get after the passer. They will bring those two middle backers, (Ryan) Shazier and (Lawrence) Timmons — they’ll bring both of those guys, he said.

One thing you notice, too, is they love to keep their eyes on the quarterback and vision on the quarterback, and so it becomes, for any quarterback, where you are looking in the progression of plays. You’ve got to be able to look off and do some different things that way.

When teams that play man (coverage) — I don’t want to say it’s easy, but man coverage is man coverage. You know what you’re going to get. When it’s zone, it’s a little bit harder. You have to be more detailed and precise in your routes and your progressions … The Steelers actually play a true 34. You will see more of that front with this group. [They’ll] still play their under front and over front and mix it up a little bit in their base packages. As far as the three games, this is more of a 34 look.

The Steelers are still searching for a true lockdown cornerback after the trade for cornerback Brandon Boykin went nowhere. William Gay and Ross Cockrell are OK at best.

EAGLES RUNNING GAME vs STEELERS RUN DEFENSE

PHI- 3.5 YPC (21/32), 116.5 YPG (10/32)

PIT- 3.4 YPC (8/32), 50.5 YPG (2/32)

The Eagles ran for 100 yards against the Bears, although it was a grind. The wealth was spread around and Darren Sproles led the team with 40 yards on 12 carries. They’ve run the ball the sixth most times in the league with 66 attempts.

We saw a lot of guard/tackle Matt Tobin taking the third tight end role in the 13 personnel packages. Pederson used this grouping of six offensive linemen four times to go with one instance of seven at one point. Going back to the slowing the game down and limiting possessions, for a second. If the Eagles can sustain a solid rushing attack and Wentz moves the chains on some crucial third downs, they can even cut the number of series to as low as even eight. The less possessions, the more chance Philly has of winning. Hold onto the ball and keep Big Ben on the sideline.

 

This goes back to the 13 personnel packages. If the Eagles can show a consistent running game coming out of this power attack, Pederson will mix in the play action and attack with the tight ends up the seams.

Well, if you are counting (G/T) Matt Tobin as a third tight end right now? Yeah, it helps you obviously in the run game because you’ve got bigger bodies protecting the edge. But at the same time, you can still throw the football with him in the football game. It’s an advantage. I think sometimes, with (TEs) Trey (Burton), (Brent) Celek or with (Zach) Ertz in there, it creates a little bit of a match-up. You can kind of set the defense based on the personnel and the formation called and that can give you advantage, as well.

It might be the first true test for the Steelers’ run defense, which has only been run on 30 times, the fewest in the NFL. Lawrence Timmons and Ryan Shazier lead the boom in the middle and the defensive line is solid up front led by defensive end Cam Heyward. The front seven is improving, it’s the secondary which is a worry in Pittsburgh.

STEELERS PASSING GAME vs EAGLES PASS DEFENSE

PHI- 69.1 passer rating allowed (4/32), 194 YPG (5/32)

PIT- 95.5 passer rating (12/32), 50.5 YPG (2/32)

Roethlisberger has thrown the ball just three times more than Wentz, but has three more completions, three more touchdowns and 91 more yards. There are some similarities between the two. They’re both small-school, big-bodied quarterbacks that can keep plays alive with their feet while keeping their eyes downfield. Big Ben has the stronger arm of the two, but Wentz can still get it down the field. Where the veteran has the rookie beaten is reducing the shots he’s taken over the years. Wentz has taken some huge hits so far.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWK_rh8h2UU

Who is going to be able to sustain Antonio Brown is the big question. In my opinion, the Eagles secondary struggle with quickness and shiftiness after the catch and Brown is one of the best in the game with the ball in his hands. Pittsburgh is still trying to find him a running mate. Eli Rogers looked quick after the catch in Week 1, Sammie Coates is a burner with big-play potential, Markus Wheaton hasn’t done much and Darius Heyward-Bey is the veteran of the group.

Philly’s cornerbacks can match up against every wideout not named Brown, but the man with the Tetris haircut is going to be making people miss. Nolan Carroll hasn’t tackled well after the catch.

 

We’ll see about Jalen Mills, who flashed some encouraging signs in the win against Chicago despite being beaten badly by Alshon Jeffery and missing a tackle on another play. Ron Brooks will match up with Rodgers in the slot.

 

The Eagles need to help on Brown and hope the others can match against the rest of the Steelers’ core.

STEELERS RUNNING GAME vs EAGLES RUN DEFENSE

PHI- 4.7 YPC allowed (27/32), 92.0 YPG (10/32)

PIT- 4.1 YPC (12/32), 135.5 YPG (6/32)

Once again, the Steelers are getting outstanding production from now 33-year-old DeAngelo Williams, who is leading the NFL with 237 yards on 4.1 yards per carry while filling in for Le’Veon Bell. Pittsburgh’s offensive line is the best it’s been in a while, led by right guard David DeCastro and Maurkice Pouncey. They’ve done a phenomenal job of paving the way for Williams.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0Ky95K9LiE

The Eagles, of course, have plenty of beef themselves inside led by Fletcher Cox and Bennie Logan but haven’t stopped the run as much as defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz would probably like. That 4.7 yards per tote clip needs to improve. Brandon Graham has been the most impressive player so far on the defensive line and setting the edge beautifully. Philadelphia might have the edge in that department with Graham, Vinny Curry and Connor Barwin going up against Alejandro Villanueva and Marcus Gilchrist.

Villanueva is the former Army Ranger who was initially signed by Chip Kelly to play on the defensive line. He since went to Pittsburgh and is quickly turning into a blossoming project at tackle. Gilchrist is underrated at right tackle.

 

PREDICTION- 31-24 Pittsburgh

If the Eagles can hang around in a fun game against one of the game’s best teams, that’s all you can ask for. Big Ben one-ups the rookie in the fourth quarter.

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