The Pittsburgh Steelers have beaten some quality teams in 2024, but they’ll have arguably their toughest test of the year ahead of them on Sunday. The Steelers will hit the road and take on the Philadelphia Eagles, who boast an impressive 11-2 record.
The Steelers have obviously been great this season as well. They’ve dropped a few games to some teams they should have beaten, but they’ve been on fire recently. Since Russell Wilson took over as the starting quarterback, the Steelers have won six of seven and control their own destiny in the AFC North. Even with all of that in mind, the Steelers are still looked at as underdogs heading into this affair.
Every week, the NFL’s official YouTube channel posts a preview video for each game on the weekly slate. At the end of each video, 10 NFL.com analysts predict the winner of the game, as well as the final score. In their video for the Steelers and Eagles matchup, seven of the 10 analysts think the Eagles will come out on top.
Although the analysts as a whole aren’t excited about the Steelers’ chances, they all predict a close game. Every prediction is a one-possession game. The biggest margin of victory among the predictions is just seven points. This makes sense. Although the Steelers are underdogs, all signs point to a game that should come down to the wire.
When it comes to beating the Eagles, the plan for the Steelers is rather simple. They have to stop the ground game. Eagles RB Saquon Barkley has been unstoppable this year and leads the league with 1,623 rushing yards. Barkley’s rushed for at least 100 yards in seven of his last eight games and is in the best form of his career. The Eagles seem to be having some issues elsewhere on the offense, though. If the Steelers can contain Barkley, it will go a long way toward a victory.
The Steelers have beaten several playoff-caliber teams this season. The Eagles are their best opponent yet, though, and it doesn’t get much easier from here. Pittsburgh still has to face the Baltimore Ravens again, as well as the Kansas City Chiefs. For the Steelers to truly be considered contenders, they need to do well during this stretch. That starts with a win against the Eagles on Sunday, which these analysts don’t deem likely to happen.
