When the Pittsburgh Steelers host the Philadelphia Eagles next Sunday, they will face an offense that has struggled to put points on the board through their first four games of the 2012 season, especially on the road.
In four games the Eagles have averaged just 16.5 points a game which ranks them 30th overall in the league heading into Monday night. Their season high came against the Baltimore Ravens in week 2 when they scored 24 points in the win. In their first two road games they scored a total of 23 points.
In addition, Eagles quarterback Michael Vick has struggled mightily thus far in his first two games on the road this season against the Cleveland Browns and the Arizona Cardinals as he has completed just 49.5% of his passes on his way to posting a road passer rating of 56.5. The Eagles signal caller has also been sacked a total of 11 times through four games and is responsible for 9 of the Eagles 12 turnovers thus far.
While the Steelers defense has been good at not allowing a ton of explosive plays of 20 yards or more through the first three games, 2 of the 6 that they have allowed have been for 64 and 71 yards respectively, and both went for touchdowns. The Eagles added 5 more explosive plays to their season total Sunday night against the New York Giants, which gives them 23 on the season now, or nearly 6 a game.
The Steelers defense has struggled to get consistent pressure against opposing quarterbacks thus far this season and they have forced only two turnovers defensively to go along with just 5 sacks. This has to change Sunday against the Eagles or the Steelers offense will be once again forced to carry the load.
