It’s a Keystone State battle on the gridiron as the brethren of the state of Pennsylvania collide in an interconference battle on the week 8 schedule. The Pittsburgh Steelers are on the road as they make the in-state trek to face the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday afternoon. Pittsburgh battled only to fall short as they lost 16-10 at Miami on Sunday Night Football last week. They did cover the line as a seven-point underdog. Philadelphia is coming off a bye last week: they defeated Dallas 26-17 at home to cover the 6.5-point line in their previous game on October 16. In the all-time regular season series between the teams, the Eagles own a 47-29-3 advantage though it was the Steelers picking up a 38-29 win at home in the most recent matchup on October 11, 2020.
Pittsburgh hung tough on the road in Miami on the heels of upsetting Tampa Bay the week before but couldn’t come up with the clutch plays late to give them the win. The Steelers fell to 2-5 on the season with the loss and entered week 8 tied for third in the AFC North with Cleveland. Against Miami, Pittsburgh fell behind 13-0 in the opening quarter, closed within 13-10 in the second quarter and gave up a field goal right before the half to trail by six. Neither team was able to put points on the board in the second half, leaving the Steelers on the wrong end of the scoreboard. Kenny Pickett threw interceptions in the red zone on the final two Pittsburgh drives when they had a chance to take the lead. Pittsburgh was outgained 372-344 and lost the turnover battle 3-0 to offset their advantages in first downs (19-17) and time of possession (33:16 to 26:44) in the game.
The Steelers are 24th in the league in passing offense as they average 210.7 yards per game through the air. The team is 27th in the league in rushing offense as they put up an average of 87.9 yards per contest. Pittsburgh is 30th in the league in scoring offense with 15.3 points per contest and 22nd in scoring defense as they allow 23.1 points per game. Mitch Trubisky is 78 of 128 passing for 767 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions while getting sacked nine times. He adds 29 yards and a score on the ground. Kenny Pickett is 87 of 127 passing for 771 yards with two touchdowns and seven interceptions on the year. He contributes 61 yards and two scores on the ground. Najee Harris leads the team on the ground with 100 carries for 329 yards plus a score. Jaylen Warren (23 carries, 103 yards) and Chase Claypool (eight carries, 55 yards) have seen action in the ground game as well. Diontae Johnson leads the team in receptions with 38 receptions totaling 337 yards on the season. George Pickens (26 catches, 338 yards, TD), Pat Freiermuth (28 grabs, 310 yards, TD), Chase Claypool (28 catches, 266 yards, TD) and Harris (18 receptions, 86 yards, two TD) have been active as well. Chris Boswell has hit all nine extra point attempts and 12 of 16 field goal attempts this season with a long of 59 on the year.
Among guys that aren’t on injured reserve, Pittsburgh has a pretty healthy roster. Defensive tackles Cam Heyward (rest) along with Larry Ogunjobi (knee) and cornerback Levi Wallace (shoulder) didn’t practice Thursday. Defensive back Josh Jackson (groin) was limited in practice. Watch for updates on their statuses heading toward kickoff.
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