The Pittsburgh Steelers are now off their Week 4 bye and they’re preparing to play the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday at Heinz Field. Not surprisingly, the Steelers opened Week 5 of the 2020 NFL season on Tuesday as 7-point home favorites against the Eagles, who won their Week 4 road game on Sunday night against the San Francisco 49ers 25-20.
The 1-2-1 Eagles enter Week 5 as the leaders of the NFC East division. They have scored just 84 points in their first four games that included losses to the Washington Football Team and the Los Angeles Rams. The Eagles have allowed 107 points in their first four games.
Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz enters Week 5 having completed 97 of his 160 total pass attempts for 930 yards with 4 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. He’s also been sacked a total of 14 times in the Eagles first four games. Wentz has already rushed for 3 touchdowns on the season, however, and is second on the team in rushing yards with 111 yards.
Tight end Zach Ertz leads the Eagles in receptions with 19 for 139 yards and a touchdown entering Week 5. Wide receiver Greg Ward leads the Eagles in receiving yardage with 146 yards and a touchdown entering week 5 of the season. The Eagles have nine different players that have caught at least five passes so far this season.
Running back Miles Sanders, a Penn State product, currently leads the Eagles in rushing with 236 yards and a touchdown on 51 total carries. He’s the only player on the Eagles roster with 20 or more carries through four games played.
Defensively for the Eagles, linebacker Nathan Gerry enters Week 5 as the team’s leader in total tackles with 33 with three of those resulting in lost yardage. The Eagles lead the NFL in sacks entering Week 5 with 17 and defensive ends Josh Sweat and Brandon Graham have registered three each in the team’s first four games. Defensive tackle Malik Jackson leads the Eagles in quarterback hits with 9.
Eagles safety Rodney McLeod and linebacker Alex Singleton have the team’s two interceptions so far this season and the former leads in passes defensed with three in four games played. The Eagles defense has three defensive takeaways on the season.
All-time, the Steelers and Eagles have met each other 79 times (including 1 postseason game), with Philadelphia winning 48 games and Pittsburgh winning 28 games. They have also tied 3 times. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is 1-2 all-time against the Eagles since getting the job in 2007. The Steelers are 5-12 in the Super Bowl era versus the Eagles with all five wins coming at home.
The last time the Steelers and Eagles played was in Week 3 of the 2016 season. The Eagles won that game in Philadelphia 34-3. The last game played in Pittsburgh between the two teams was in 2012 and the Steelers won that Week 5 meeting at Heinz Field 16-14.
Dating back to Tomlin’s first season as the Steelers head coach in 2007, the team has compiled a 9-4 post-bye week record. The Steelers have won their last three post-bye week games after losing three in a row from 2014-2016. The Steelers are also 3-2 in home games following bye weeks under Tomlin.
The Eagles are 2-4 against teams coming off bye weeks under their head coach Doug Pederson since he took over the job in 2016.
