Steelers Steamrolled by Undefeated Eagles

The Pittsburgh Steelers were abused by a prolific deep passing attack from the Philadelphia Eagles.
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PHILADELPHIA -- The undefeated Philadelphia Eagles flexed their muscles at home against their in-state rival, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Philadelphia turned their opponent over twice and Jalen Hurts threw for four touchdowns in a 35-13 win at home. 

The Steelers got the ball first but Kenny Pickett spent his first drive picking himself up off the turf. It didn't take long for the Eagles to start putting up points. After marching for seven plays and a couple of first downs, Jalen Hurts unleashed a deep ball to A.J. Brown, who went over the top of Minkah Fitzpatrick to haul in a touchdown and put Philadelphia up 7-0 early. 

The Steelers responded with a gutsy drive of their own. It started poorly, with the offensive line committing penalties on three of their first five plays but penalties cost the Eagles too. Nick Sciba came on to attempt a field goal after the Steelers got stopped on fourth and goal from the two yard line, but a delay of game penalty on Eagles defender Brandon Graham moved the line of scrimmage up a yard and the Steelers opted to go for it. Offensive coordinator Matt Canada reached deep into the bag of tricks and pulled out a pass from Chase Claypool to Derek Watt for a game-tying touchdown. 

The Eagles retook the lead on their next possession. Another long drive set up a deep connection between Hurts and Brown for a touchdown. They scored from 27 yards out to reclaim the lead at 14-7 with 12:53 to play until halftime. 

Both sides traded punts until midway through the second quarter, when Hurts once again picked on Akhello Witherspoon in coverage against Brown. This reception went for 29 yards and another touchdown to put Philadelphia up 21-7 at the 6:20 mark of the second quarter. Brown picked up a taunting penalty after he reminded Witherspoon that it was his third score of the afternoon. 

The Steelers' second drive of 10 or more plays ended with a field goal to cut the deficit from 14 to 11 and that score held at halftime. 

Philadelphia took the ball to start the second half and continued to score at will. Terrell Edmunds tried to jump a screen but ended up leaving Zach Paschal wide open. Hurts hit him in stride for a 34-yard touchdown and the Eagles led 28-10 less than two minutes into the third quarter. 

The Steelers had to convert five first downs - twice on fourth down - to drive 64 yards into field goal range. Sciba knocked in his second kick from 29 yards out to pull his team within two scores at 28-13 with 5:59 left in the third quarter. 

Things continued to deteriorate for the Steelers as the game turned to the fourth quarter. Pickett was stripped by Javon Hargrave and Avonte Maddox picked up the loose ball. Two plays later, Miles Sanders was in the endzone and the route was on as Philadelphia went up 35-13. 

After their first defense came up with another stop, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni called off the dogs, letting backup quarterback Gardner Minshew and the second offense take the reins. The Steelers came up with a stop but then Pickett committed his second turnover of the day when he missed high-targetting Pat Freiermuth at the goal line. 

The Eagles ran out the clock on their league-leading sixth victory in a row and handed the Steelers their second loss in a row. 

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Published
Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper. He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press. During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general.