Eye on the Enemy: Eagles and Steelers battle for Pennsylvania in week 7

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles have been two franchises that have been locked together through the years of NFL history. The two teams shared owners at one point in their earlier stages and even joined together to form the “Steagles” during World War II.

Since the NFL-AFL merger though, the history of the Eagles and Steelers has become a little stale. There have certainly big huge moments for both teams, but near misses of meeting in the Super Bowl have been the only true calling card between the two teams.

In Week 7, the Eagles come off their bye week to face a 2-5 Steelers unit that has several issues throughout their roster. Can the Eagles avoid a slipup and move to 7-0?

We have all you need on the Steelers here.

Pittsburgh Steelers (2-5)

Last Game: 16-10 Loss to Miami Dolphins

Offensive Ranking: 30th

Defensive Ranking: 28th

Head-to-Head Matchup: Eagles lead series 48-29-3

Pittsburgh Steelers Coaching Staff

Head Coach: Mike Tomlin

Offensive Coordinator: Matt Canada

Defensive Coordinator: Teryl Austin

Special Teams Coordinator: Danny Smith

Offense

The Pittsburgh Steelers offense is a mess right now. Matt Canada runs a pretty dry play call selection that hopes the quarterback playing can make every single throw at every time or else the offense will sputter. Kenny Pickett hasn’t been bad in his rookie season, but it’s clear that the offense is not utilizing his overall skillset well.

Najee Harris still hasn’t recovered from his foot injury during the offseason, and while the receivers are all extremely talented, there’s just not enough separation to generate big plays. The one positive is that Pittsburgh’s offensive line has greatly improved and isn’t the main reason for their struggles anymore. Tackling will be a major key for the Eagles on Sunday.

Defense

Will TJ Watt play Sunday? It looks unlikely. The reigning defensive player of the year suffered a pec injury on opening day and hasn’t played since. While he’s been on the reserved/injured list, the Steelers’ front seven is much different with Watt out. Alex Highsmith has done a very good job of accounting for over half of the Steelers’ sack totals this year, but it’s clear the Eagles have an edge in the trenches.

Pittsburgh’s secondary is getting healthier which is a big key, but it comes down to them making opponents pay for their mistakes. The secondary dropped four would-be interceptions on Sunday that directly led to the loss to Miami. This defense is good, but without Watt, they are severely limited.

X-Factor: Minkah Fitzpatrick

Before their bye week, the Eagles put Micah Parsons in a blender and he couldn’t make as strong an impact as he normally did in the Eagles’ 26-17 win. Minkah Fitzpatrick is a star in the NFL at safety but is only one player. He can potentially impact a game in huge ways if the Eagles allow him to. It’ll be up to Jalen Hurts and the Eagles’ coaching staff to put Fitzpatrick in a similar blender and out-scheme the Steelers into oblivion.