The Philadelphia Eagles did more than survive the Pittsburgh Steelers. They overcame, and then they thrived, further establishing themselves as a Super Bowl contender. Furthering an NFL-best 10-game winning streak, the Eagles weathered an early storm, thanks to some complementary football.
The Eagles moved the ball well throughout the game, with just two blemishes: a pair of fumbles. Early on, the Steelers got a punchout by T.J. Watt on QB Jalen Hurts. After punting on the ensuing drive, Mark Robinson forced another fumble.
The only problem is, between the two takeaways, the Steelers only mustered three points. The Eagles recorded just one takeaway, but they made it count. Adjust the outcomes of the turnover plays and their subsequent drives and this could be a different game.
For Eagles CB Darius Slay, however, he is proud of his unit. Because they had a plan against the Steelers, and it worked exceedingly well. The Steelers produced just 163 yards of offense, by far a season-low. The last time they produced anything close to that was 168 yards against the Titans in 2021. And they won that game.
"They got no points out of that. None. None at all", Slay said of the success of the Eagles' defense after the Steelers' first takeaway. "I think our defense started the game off with like five, maybe six straight three-and-outs. ... It was wild. We knew what they were gonna do. We seen it on film. And we really just executed our job. Our coaches put a great game plan together, and we executed at a very, very, very, very high level".
The Steelers did net a field goal after the second Eagles turnover, but the defense can't take the blame. The Steelers actually produced minus-eight yards on that drive, thanks to a penalty. They recovered the ball at the Eagles' 11, and kicked from the 19.
While Slay's comment about the Eagles knowing what the Steelers would do might raise eyebrows, it's not so surprising. Every team goes into every week believing they know what their opponent will do, within reason. At this point of the season, everybody has a tone of tape out there, and there are few secrets. You can break your tendencies, but you need to establish tendencies first.
The problem is, the Steelers didn't break their tendencies against the Eagles. And OC Arthur Smith has his own stubborn streak, which he acknowledges. When he is committed to running the ball, he will beat his head against the wall.
The Steelers didn't help themselves against the Eagles by setting themselves up in poor circumstances. On the first play of the game, they were already facing a 3rd and 7, which they failed to convert. They went three-and-out on each of their first five possessions, or at least they would have if they didn't start inside the red zone on one of them. That would be the field-goal drive mentioned above by Slay, the Eagles surviving the Steelers' takeaways.
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