It’s the Pennsylvania State Championship game, as Pittsburgh Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin stated Tuesday. It’s a shame that the Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles can’t meet in the middle somewhere for this matchup, like Beaver Stadium, or — as Tomlin said — Breezewood.
The battle between the 11-2 Eagles and the 10-3 Steelers is set to be a monumental one, a game that will have many across the nation tuning into in the 4:25 PM window on FOX.
Within this big-time showdown, there are some huge names and some interesting storylines flying around, which should make for some great action.
There will be games within the game to watch, like the turnover battle, tackling battle and more. Make sure to keep an eye on key individual matchups, though. There are plenty of them this week from top to bottom in all three phases for the Steelers against the Eagles.
Below are my four key matchups to watch on Sunday.
STEELERS CB JOEY PORTER JR. VS. EAGLES WR A.J. BROWN
After putting Joey Porter Jr. on Tee Higgins in the matchup between the Steelers and Bengals due to the physicality that Higgins brings to the table at the WR position, it seems rather likely that the Steelers would ask Porter to handle the A.J. Brown matchup this week, too, though it won’t be Porter on an island.
It’ll be a tough task for Porter, who has had a rocky second season in the NFL, struggling with penalties, being far too aggressive in coverage at times this season. He’s going to have to be physical against Brown, but he can’t cross the line and put a target on his back like he did against the Bengals.
The last time the Steelers had to deal with Brown, it went horribly as Brown hauled in three touchdowns in the 2022 meeting in Philadelphia. Though it seems unlikely that’ll be the case on Sunday due to the passing-game issues for the Eagles, the Steelers can’t let Brown take over the game. Porter is going to need to be on top of his game in this matchup.
STEELERS S MINKAH FITZPATRICK VS. EAGLES QB JALEN HURTS
In the battle of two former college teammates at Alabama, Minkah Fitzpatrick has to find a way to impact the game on Sunday for the Steelers against Eagles’ QB Jalen Hurts. Back in the 2022 matchup, Hurts had a great day going after Fitzpatrick down the field.
Things should be different this week as the Eagles are more of a quick-game passing attack, so Fitzpatrick is going to need to play down more around the line of scrimmage and try to jump some quick routes to force turnovers. That’s going to be difficult as Hurts has just five interceptions on the season, but Fitzpatrick knows his former college QB well, so there might be some plays to be made from an instinctual standpoint for Fitzpatrick.
On the flip side, though, Hurts knows Fitzpatrick very well, too, and has had success against him. These are two extremely smart football players that understand the Xs and Os very well. It’s going to be a real game of cat and mouse, and it will be very exciting to watch these guys try and match wits on the field.
EAGLES RT LANE JOHNSON VS. STEELERS OLB T.J. WATT
Great on great, that’s exactly what this matchup is. Lane Johnson is the best right tackle in football and is one of the most athletic players to ever play in the trenches. Remember, he’s a former high school and college QB that transitioned to OT at Oklahoma and is on track for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
On the season, Johnson has once again been very good. He remains one of the best pass blocking tackles in football, grading out at an 87.8 overall from Pro Football Focus on the season, and has allowed just 7 pressures all year. That is not a typo. Seven total pressures.
He’s as good as it gets. But he’ll have his hands full on Sunday against arguably the best defensive player in football, that being Steelers’ OLB T.J. Watt.
Watt has been relatively quiet in recent weeks, but that’s been largely due to the amount of attention he’s gotten all season from opposing offenses. They’ve chipped him, double-teamed him, and slid protection his way far too often. That probably won’t be the case on Sunday against Johnson, who can handle his own, so there will be plenty of 1-on-1 situations for Watt to try and make a play in.
EAGLES DL JALEN CARTER VS. STEELERS INTERIOR OL
The Steelers have a beast along the defensive line in their own right in Cameron Heyward, but this week I’ll be glued to Eagles’ star defensive lineman Jalen Carter, who has been a one-man wrecking crew throughout the season for Philadelphia.
He’s a run-stopping defensive lineman who is also a freak athlete and can get after the passer with the best of them. On the year, Carter has generated 48 pressures for the Eagles on the interior, and he has a remarkable 23 run stops. The Eagles move him around some along the defensive line, so they’ll hunt for some matchups in big spots.
But primarily on Sunday, Carter will find himself lined up over either Steelers’ LG Isaac Seumalo or C Zach Frazier, making for a pair of juicy matchups. Seumalo and Frazier are going to need to be sharp, because Carter can take over a game in the blink of an eye and throw everything out of whack.
He’s done that a time or two this season and is coming off a strong game against the Panthers, in which he generated five pressures and two run stops. He had eight pressures the week before against the Baltimore Ravens. Pittsburgh’s interior OL has to hold up well against Carter for the offense to even have a semblance of a chance on Sunday.
