Countdown to Kickoff: Eagles vs. Steelers

5...PLAYERS TO WATCH

Eagles CB Darius Slay - Slay was asked by SI Eagles Today this week if he gets a little more excited when a rookie QB is on the docket and the veteran Pro Bowl threat is smart enough to say the right things, saying he gets excited for everyone but there was a sly smile accompanying that. Slay and the rest of the defensive backfield know they will have opportunities this week against a QB who has thrown seven interceptions this season.

Eagles TE Dallas Goedert - Goedert has been a dominant third-down player and the Eagles are expected to make a concerted effort to be more disciplined when it comes to getting the star tight end the football in those kinds of high-leverage situations.

Eagles RB Miles Sanders- He grew up in Pittsburgh, attending Woodlands Hills High, and in his only game against the team many family and friends root for, he ran for 80 yards and two touchdowns, including one from 74 yards away, in a 38-29 loss on Oct. 11, 2020.

Steelers QB Kenny Pickett - An Ocean Township, NJ native, Pickett originally committed to Temple before changing his mind and heading to Western Pennsylvania and Pitt.

The first-round pick has struggled with a league-worst 66.7 passer rating, something that is tied to a disastrous 2:7 touchdown to interception ratio which doesn’t bode well against a 6-0 Eagles team. NFL rookie quarterbacks have dropped eight straight games against opponents that entered the game 6-0 or better.

Steelers RB Najee Harris - Since Harris arrived in the NFL as a 2021 first-round pick, the Alabama product is fifth in the NFL with 2,082 scrimmage yards. Only Jonathan Taylor, Austin Ekeler, Nick Chubb, and Joe Mixon have produced more. Harris has struggled this season and has lacked explosiveness but a Pittsburgh path to an upset would likely have to be of a grind-it-out nature and Harris would have to be a big part of that.

4...MATCHUPS TO WATCH

Steelers’ third-down offense vs. Eagles’ third-down defense - The Steelers are at the bottom of most statistical categories and the Eagles are at the top of most. The one outlier for Philadelphia has been third-down defense where the Eagles are 29th. Pittsburgh hasn’t been a world-beater but ranks 20th offensively which is better than most of its metrics.

The turnover ratio - On paper, this looks like a mismatch with the Eagles at an NFL-best plus-12 and the Steelers at minus-2 with a young QB susceptible to game-changing mistakes.

Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick vs. Eagles QB Jalen Hurts - The former Alabama teammates have tremendous respect for each other and are each very competitive. Hurts has taken amazing care of the football through six games with just two interceptions and no fumbles, something Fitzpatrick wants to change.

Steelers LT Dan Moore vs. Eagles edge rushers Josh Sweat and Robert Quinn - Moore has been one of the worst left tackles in the NFL this season while Sweat is one of Philadelphia’s underrated playmakers who will be complemented now by Robert Quinn, who should get 15 to 20 snaps after being acquired from Chicago earlier this week.

3...THINGS TO KNOW

-The Steelers have played 13 games in their franchise history against teams undefeated through six games or more and own a 5-8 (.385) record. Pittsburgh’s five victories against teams undefeated through six games or more is the most since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.

-Pittsburgh’s current nine-game losing streak at Philadelphia is tied for the fourth-longest vs. any opponent on the road in franchise history.

-Pittsburgh led the NFL with 55.0 sacks in 2022 and has led the league in sacks in each of the last five seasons (2017-21). The Steelers are the first team in NFL history to lead the NFL in sacks in four straight seasons, let alone five.

2...X-FACTORS

For the Steelers: TE Pat Freiermuth - A second-round pick out of Penn State in 2021, Friermuth had rapidly developed into one of the better young tight ends in football. He will need to serve as a security blanket for Pickett.

For the Eagles: DE Robert Quinn - Quinn will play and might get as many as 15 to 20 reps on Sunday. He’s leaving a bad defensive line for a great one and that might turn him back to the production of 2021 when he was a terror on the edge.

1...PREDICTIONS

John McMullen (6-0, 2-4 vs. the spread) - You have to go back 57 years for the last time Pittsburgh came east and won in the Keystone State's largest city - 1965 at Franklin Field to be exact.

Nick Sirianni would be the first to yell 'who cares?' because it's not like the Steelers come to Philly that often, having lost only nine times in that nearly 60-year span.

Logically, the Eagles' "dominance" over the Steelers in Philadelphia is meaningless but this is Halloween season and there's something spooky about the Steelers' lack of success in Philly.

This is the organization with a record six Super Bowl championships with only three coaches since Chuck Noll arrived in 1969 with all three of them winning Lombardi Trophies and current mentor Mike Tomlin likely to join Noll and Bill Cowher in the Hall of Fame someday.

If the Steelers can’t win when they’re good why would that change here?

EAGLES 31, STEELERS 16

Ed Kracz (5-1, 4-2 vs. the spread)

There are two reasons the Steelers could spring an upset - the Eagles are coming off a bye week and may not be sharp and they have had trouble stopping the run recently.

Two reasons aren't enough when you consider there are about 10 reasons why the Eagles should win this game, and will get to 7-0 before playing again four days later in Houston.

EAGLES 29, STEELERS 17

-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen