Steelers Scouting Report: Week 8 at the Philadelphia Eagles
Steel City Underground’s “Steelers Scouting Report” is a preview of each opponent Pittsburgh will face throughout the 2022-23 NFL regular season on a weekly basis, with analysis, injury news, and potential key matchups.
Every time the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles meet each other in an NFL game, fans talk about the “Battle for Pennsylvania.” That battle hasn’t been favorable to the Steelers; they’ve met their counterparts in the state 80 times, including one post-season game, yet won just 29 to Philly’s 48. The two teams have tied each other three times in that same period.
The Eagles are legitimate contenders this 2022 NFL season. Their quick 6-0 start this year has been part ground-and-pound in the run game, explosiveness in the passing game, a lack of turnovers offensively, and a defense that has bullied opponents into giving away 14 turnovers. Philadelphia is fielding a disciplined team in all facets of the game, and that has them looking even hotter coming off of their Week 7 “bye” than Steelers fans are comfortable with. With only 5.2 penalties (average) per game, the Eagles are keeping things under control at a time when the Steelers are still trying to find their identity.
Ahead of Pittsburgh’s cross-state trip to Philadelphia on Sunday, we take a look at the Eagles in this scouting report.
Eagles offense
The energy that fuels Philadelphia’s offense is their quarterback, Jalen Hurts. His dynamic athleticism and ability to go from gunslinger to sprinter is something every NFL team that has faced the Eagles has had to focus on. It has also required that Philly focus a lot on offensive line play in order to limit potential penalties that would stall the momentum.
Hurts has completed 123-of-184 passes (66.8) for 1,514 yards and six touchdowns to two interceptions. He has also run the ball 77 times for 293 yards and six touchdowns. Hurts has, no pun intended, really hurt opposing teams by running for 23 first downs and earning a yards-per-game rushing average of 48.8 on top of a yards-per-game passing average of 252.3.
One area that has hampered the Steelers this season has been in coordinating effective run defense with pass defense. That has, in part, been due to the lower numbers in pressure without T.J. Watt, who did practice this week but may not see the field against the Eagles. Stacking the box, or using the blitz heavily, isn’t going to eliminate Hurts’ ability to take advantage of the interior linebackers – like Devin Bush, Miles Jack, and Robert Spillane – though. Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin and his assistant staff have their work cut out for them in being creative with their pressures yet maintaining assignments.
According to analyst Ben Fennell, Hurts has a 5.6% scramble rate (third highest in the NFL). He questioned whether that may be coming at the expense of Hurts finding open receivers in the passing game. As a passer, Hurts has the highest YPA of tosses between the numbers, or across the center of the field, in the league.
If Fennell is correct, those stats may give Austin a hint at how to limit the Eagles’ offense from being as explosive as, say, the Buffalo Bills were when they blew the top off of the Steelers defense.
As for the run game, Philadelphia is spearheaded by Miles Sanders who rushed for 485 yards and four touchdowns in the first six games of this season. With a quarterback and feature running back both able to break a game wide open, the Eagles present a difficult challenge.
Add to that the big-bodied, athletic receiver A.J. Brown into the mix with DeVonta Smith and tight end Dallas Goedert and things get even more interesting. Brown leads the team with 503 receiving yards on just 33 receptions and has two touchdowns. Smith and Goedert have 397 and 357 yards receiving respectively.
Eagles defense
The Steelers are going to need their offensive line to play their best game of the season in Week 8 if they hope to keep rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett from suffering the fate many opposing quarterbacks have against the Eagles this season: discomfort. Through six weeks of play, Philadelphia has logged 17 sacks. They’re providing a mix of pressures and the recent addition this week of defensive end Robert Quinn adds more heat to the fire that already burns up front.
The Eagles are finding a lot of success at forcing turnovers. In nine fumbles forced, Philadelphia recovered five. Linebacker Haason Reddick has forced three fumbles so far this season. Add to that the nine interceptions, five of which were picked by the tandem of C.J. Gardner-Johnson and James Bradberry.
That means that Philly’s D is definitely not going to lay down and allow the Steelers offense to suddenly come alive after seven weeks of attempting to create cohesion between all the moving parts, including the run game and the miscues among the receivers not named George Pickens.
If rumors are true – which they often are not – that Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada may be sent packing if he can’t play-call Pittsburgh to a road win this week, he was already facing a ton of pressure considering the juggernaut that the Eagles have shown themselves to be this season. It may be time to loosen some of the reins on Pickett and allow the young quarterback to utilize the full field in order to mix the run and pass in order to keep the Steelers’ defense, which has a mighty task at hand itself, from spending most of the game on the field.
Injuries
Eagles Participation/Injury Report
Week 8
Wednesday, October 26
- DE Brandon Graham (hamstring) – DNP
- CB James Bradberry (rest) – LP
- WR A.J. Brown (rest) – LP
- DE Fletcher Cox (rest) – LP
- C Jason Kelce (rest) – LP
- G Isaac Seumalo (ankle) – LP
- CB Darius Slay (rest) – LP
- DE Josh Sweat (rest) – LP
- CB Josh Jobe (shoulder) – FP
- OT Lane Johnson (concussion) – LP
Thursday, October 27
- DE Brandon Graham (hamstring) – LP
- CB James Bradberry (-)
- WR A.J. Brown (-)
- DE Fletcher Cox (-)
- G Landon Dickerson (-)
- C Jason Kelce (-)
- G Isaac Seumalo (ankle) – FP
- CB Darius Slay (-)
- DE Josh Sweat (-)
- CB Josh Jobe (shoulder) – FP
- OT Lane Johnson (concussion) – FP
Note: (-) means the player on the injury report did not have their participation in practice included.
The Pittsburgh Steelers visit the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, October 30 at 1:00 p.m. (Eastern) at Lincoln Financial Field on CBS (broadcasters: Jim Nantz on the call, Tony Romo with analysis, and Tracy Wolfson providing sideline coverage). Coverage map.
