The Pittsburgh Steelers got punched in the mouth last Sunday. The Philadelphia Eagles dominated them, steamrolling the Steelers with an impressive drive to seal the game. It hasn’t been often this season that the Steelers have looked so overmatched. Outside of a handful of moments, it never really looked like they were in control of that game. Analyst Chris Simms actually believes the Eagles are so talented that they’d beat the Steelers no matter how many times they played.
“If they play five more times, the Eagles will win all five,” Simms said recently on his Chris Simms Unbuttoned podcast. “They never stopped Philly, except for one drive late in the second quarter. I know they caused a turnover, but you know what I mean by stopped. The drive fizzled out, and nothing happened.
“That was because, late in the second quarter, they kind of got into, ‘Hey, two-minute, we need to go down and pass the ball.’ But other than that, they never stopped them all day, and I don’t think they can ever stop them going forward. The Eagles are a tough matchup for that Steelers defense.”
The results from that game certainly support Simms’ point. Quarterback Jalen Hurts threw for almost 300 yards and two touchdowns. Receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith each put up over 100 yards receiving. The Steelers did a good job of quieting running back Saquon Barkley, but even then, he still broke off a few long runs.
The Steelers’ defense did seem to be on skates for most of that game. Their pass rusher did get after Hurts, but they weren’t good enough to really rattle him. On the back end, they got torched in coverage. Tackling seemed optional for them too. It was an ugly day.
Thankfully, Simms’ point isn’t too concerning because the Steelers won’t play the Eagles again this year unless the two teams meet in the Super Bowl. Because they’re in different conferences, it’s going to be a few years before the Steelers get another crack at the Eagles. The two teams could look very different at that point, but if they don’t the Steelers could prove Simms wrong.
It’s clear the Steelers were intent on not letting Barkley beat them, and from that standpoint, they succeeded. They dared the Eagles to beat them by throwing the ball, and unfortunately for them, Philadelphia more than met that challenge.
The issues the Steelers’ defense had could pop up against other teams too. The team is hoping the missed tackles were just a fluke, but opponents are probably going to test that. Not many teams have the Eagles’ offensive firepower, but the Steelers’ secondary has been leaky recently. Expect that to also be tested.
Overall, the Steelers’ defense wasn’t the only issue in that game. Their offense was the real problem. It’s impossible to say if the Eagles would always beat the Steelers. Maybe if the Steelers’ offense had capitalized early in the game after two Eagles turnovers, their defense would’ve had a better day. That loss falls on everyone, not just one side of the ball.
