The Philadelphia Eagles may be one of the few teams that can claim to be more physical than the Pittsburgh Steelers. Their offensive line is stellar, but against the Steelers’ defensive line, they were always going to have their hands full. The Steelers won their fair share of those battles, but the Eagles imposed their will on them to end the game. Their final drive bled basically the entire fourth quarter, spanning 21 plays. However, Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata revealed that did not feel as easy as it looked at the end of the Eagles’ 27-13 win.
“That was tough,” Mailata said via the Eagles’ YouTube channel. “Moving the ball was tough. That was not an easy task. Stat wise, you see time of possession, 10:31, you’re like, ‘Oh, that’s pretty dominant.’ It didn’t feel like that. We had to earn every down. That was a great front and a great team that we played.”
That’s nice for Mailata to say. His team did win the game, so he could’ve gloated if he wanted to. Instead, he showed respect. Although Mailata complimented the Steelers, it still has to hurt that they got worn down like that. They want to be the best, but the Eagles pushed them around to close out the game.
That final drive was pure dominance from the Eagles. It isn’t often you’ll see something like that. They ran 21 plays, went 88 yards, and drained the final 10:29 off the clock. The Steelers had them pinned back in the shadow of their own end zone, but the Eagles fought their way out of it and didn’t give the ball back until QB Jalen Hurts handed it to an official after the final kneel down.
Funny enough, that’s the kind of offense the Steelers want to have. Multiple times this year, they’ve imposed their will on an opponent to close out games. The Eagles just play that tough, physical style better than they do. Their offensive line is more experienced, and running back Saquon Barkley is an MVP candidate for a reason.
Hopefully, the Steelers can learn from their mistakes against the Eagles. They’re about to face another powerful rushing offense in the Baltimore Ravens. They stopped them when the AFC North rivals met the first time this season, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be able to do it again. That game is going to have more weight than this loss to the Eagles, so no positive comments after the game will feel good if they lose to the Ravens.
