2022 Steelers Season Recall: Undefeated Eagles easily hand Pittsburgh 6th loss of the season
Steel City Underground presents our 2022 Steelers Recall: a look back at Pittsburgh Steelers games and storylines from last season.
The Pittsburgh Steelers weren’t expected, by most NFL analysts and fans – including Steelers Nation – to have any shot whatsoever in challenging the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles in Week 8 of the 2022 NFL season. While the Steelers were ultimately overpowered by an Eagles team that was stacked in every aspect of the game, Pittsburgh showed signs that there’s still fight in them.
The 35-13 final score doesn’t tell the whole story but it’s likely the only thing that matters to a lot of fans who were excited about the potential this Steelers squad had entering the season. At the end of a game, though, it doesn’t matter how excited fans are about what a playmaker might do if the playmaker can’t consistently make plays.
The Steelers took their shots in this game despite the Eagles playing at home fresh off of a bye week. They earned 3.0 sacks on Philadelphia QB Jalen Hurts and limited his rushing yardage to two carries for ten yards and zero touchdowns. They caught Philly off guard when Chase Claypool threw a touchdown to Derek Watt plus replacement kicker Nick Sciba was perfect.
Unfortunately, there was not effective enough execution across the board to overcome deficits like Hurts finding A.J. Brown for three deep touchdowns. The offensive line allowed Kenny Pickett to face the harshest pressure he’d dealt with since becoming the starting quarterback, which led to sacks, fumbles, and an interception.
The offensive playbook was opened up more than what the Steelers had previously shown a willingness to do. Pickett took shots down the field. Again, he and Diontae Johnson seemed to be on different pages. George Pickens came down with a catch that should have been challenged and wasn’t, making his day a scratch from any history books.
Despite the Claypool trick play knotting the score 7-7 to end the first quarter, the Steelers offense struggled while the defense tried to keep them in reach. Brown’s three first half touchdowns didn’t help, but when the Steelers went into the locker room at halftime, they were only down 21-10.
Things would fold up quickly as the Eagles scored on their first possession of the second half, a five-play 75-yard drive that ended with Hurts finding Zac Pascal for a 34-yard touchdown. The Steelers answered with a 15-play, 64-yard drive which ended in a Nick Sciba field goal. That wasn’t what the Steelers needed, trailing 28-13 before Eagles RB Miles Sanders hit pay dirt on a two-play 54-yard drive following Pickett being strip-sacked by former Steelers Javon Hargrave.
That would prove to be the deciding factor for the remainder of the game as the Steelers fell to 2-6 on the season by a final score of 35-13. Hurts finished the day 19/28 for 285 yards and 4 touchdowns, while the Steelers looked for answers entering their upcoming bye week.
Could the season be salvaged at this point?
