The Eagles are preparing for a week 3 clash with the Pittsburgh Steelers, a clash that will give Carson Wentz his toughest challenge yet. The Steelers Defense may be ranked 23rd in yards per game, but don’t let that fool you..the Eagles Offensive line will need to be at their best if Carson Wentz is to repeat the form shown through the opening two weeks.
The Steelers give up an average of just 50 yards per game against the run..ranking second in the league. Given that the Eagles have seen near a 50/50 split of rushing and passing looks, an inability to establish momentum on the ground will place even more pressure on the shoulders of Carson Wentz.
The Eagles haven’t exactly come up against notorious Defenses in their opening two weeks..but their running backs have still struggled to find consistency in the west-coast hybrid scheme.
Without the 30-yard run of Ryan Mathews against the Bears, the total stats would be a lot less forgiving.
The running game obviously starts with the Offensive line opening the holes, something that has been a slight concern through the opening two weeks. When it comes to pulling and moving the pocket, the athletic Eagles O-Line can get the job done..but it’s the inside rushes where they have fallen short at times.
One of the weakest links on the line, has been center Jason Kelce, who has been graded the worst center in the NFL thus far per profootballfocus.com. He boosted his overall grade from week one, which was 37.4, to 40.4. That is the lowest grade of any player on the Eagles offense.
The Offensive line has also surrendered a lot of pressure through the opening two weeks..and while Wentz has stood tough in the pocket, taken some big hits and extended some plays with his legs..the line will be exposing him to more dangerous threats against the Steelers if they can’t keep the pass rush at bay. In the opening two games, Carson Wentz has been hit seven times while seeing an abundance of pressures. He’s held his own so far..but neither the Browns not the Bears have a particularly dominant pass rush.
The Steelers pass rush starters have a total of 85 career sacks between them..which isn’t exactly staggering, especially considering they have just one sack through two games. However, it’s worth noting that the slightly inexperienced unit was up against two (debatably) strong Offensive lines, at least in comparison to the Eagles and completely eradicated the run in both..meaning Wentz has to step up.
The key here is the presence of Lane Johnson, who is set to be playing his last game before serving a likely ten-game suspension. His leadership on the right hand side will be pivotal in stopping the more notorious Steelers Defensive linemen, but the Eagles need to buy Wentz as much time as possible to stop him taking big hits..something which in a rivalry game, will become the norm.
Opening up the run game is just as important as protecting Wentz this weekend..but the Eagles Offensive line need to be on top of their game if they’re to give the rest of the Offense a chance to manage the game, establish momentum and control the tempo.
Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
