The Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t won in Philadelphia since before Cameron Heyward’s father was even born just 90 minutes northeast of Philly. Now, the Steelers and Eagles haven’t played a ton since 1965, and the number of times they’ve played in Philadelphia is an even smaller subset. But is there something about playing in the City of Brotherly love that gets to the Yinzers? Are they intimidated?
“Man, we’re in the AFC North. It’s always hostile,” Cameron Heyward said with a smile when asked about having to play the Eagles in Philadelphia. “That’s never a factor because we’re used to playing in hostile environments. But Philly has a lot of really good players.”
In case you haven’t noticed, Steelers players, their families, and fans are not popular around the AFC North. That goes for every other team in the division when they cross paths in one of the other divisional cities. Browns OL Wyatt Teller’s wife just got her Welcome to the NFL moment last Sunday, though it’s been happening for decades.
So, no, I don’t think the Steelers having to play in Philadelphia is in and of itself any disadvantage. There are more challenging road venues in which to play, like Arrowhead Stadium for example. And it’s not easy for opposing teams to play in Pittsburgh, either. Ideally, you want your home-field advantage to be an advantage, after all.
The bigger issue is simply that the Eagles usually have a better football team when the Steelers visit Philadelphia. That is the easiest reason to explain their 10-game road losing streak in the cross-state rivalry. I’m sure Mike Tomlin wouldn’t mind if they did hold this one in Breezewood.
Tomlin specifically has played the Eagles three times in Philadelphia. The Steelers have scored a combined 22 points in those three games. In the last two games, the Eagles have scored 69 points, nearly evenly split. But Bill Cowher also went his entire career winless in Philadelphia. And the Steelers never won there with Chuck Noll, either.
Of course, these statistics are always less impressive when you remember the relative scarcity of games played between interconference rivals. You might not see the Steelers and Eagles play at a particular location for eight or 12 years at a time.
For example, there was no game in Philadelphia between the Steelers and Eagles between 1979 and 1991. But even that 12-4 Super Bowl team of 1979 managed to lose in Philadelphia, 17-14. And Eagles QB Ron Jaworski didn’t even throw a touchdown but rather two interceptions.
Streaks always come to an end at some point. If the Steelers’ streak of losing to the Eagles in Philadelphia doesn’t end this week, though, it would hardly be surprising. The Eagles are an excellent team, on a nine-game winning streak, and are the healthier team. To lose would be no curse, just the odds. But it will give us another talking point eight years from now.
