Ten Observations From Eagles Win Over Steelers
PHILADELPHIA – The Eagles moved to 7-0 with a battering of a proud NFL franchise in the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field.
Here are 10 observations and quotes from the 35-13 rout.
BEST TRADE
A.J. Brown may go down in Eagles history as one of the best trades Eagles GM Howie Roseman ever made.
Maybe in franchise history.
Acquired on the first night of the draft for one of the team’s first-round draft picks and a third, he is just 25 years old and worth every penny of the four-year, $100 million contract Roseman signed him to after acquiring him.
He is the first Eagles player to record 650-plus yards (659) and five-plus TDs (5) in the first seven games of the season since Terrell Owens in 2005 (763, 6).
More history from Brown on Sunday: He is the last NFL player to do so in the first half of a game since Tennessee’s Drew Bennet did in 2004.
It’s too early to say this, but we may have a front-row seat for a Hall of Fame career.
MORE BROWN
It looked like Brown was headed for a fourth touchdown after Avonte Maddox scooped up a fumble caused by Javon Hargrave early in the fourth quarter. On the first play from there, Brown got loose in the middle of the field and was on cruise control until Minkah Fitzpatrick tripped him up from behind at the 11, forcing the WR to settle for a 43-yard gain.
“Definitely felt like I was going to score,” he said. “Minkah did a good job of swiping at my legs and getting me down. But I was upset. I think that’s the first time I got caught in the NFL. My teammates let me hear about that.”
BLOWOUT BONUS
By getting this one in hand early, the Eagles were able to pull their starters over the final 9:24, something that should benefit them on a short week before playing again against the Houston Texas on Thursday.
“That’s definitely going to benefit us, another reason we wanted to stay aggressive so we can stay ahead and if everything went right do what we were able to do and not play the last nine minutes or whatever so we can be fresher on Thursday,” said tight end Dallas Goedert.
SECOND-HALF SUCCESS
The Eagles second-half scoring hasn’t been very good this season. Of course, they haven’t had to worry much about scoring because they are outscoring opponents in the second quarter 126-15 and have held leads – oftentimes big leads - at the half in all seven games.
Against the Steelers, they stayed aggressive and put up a pair of touchdowns.
“We have so many ways we can attack a defense, we’re tough,” said Goedert. “We knew a lot of people look at us as not a very good second-half team so we wanted to go and prove we can score points in the second half, we can play in the second half and we’re a complete team that can play 60 minutes.
"When you have lead you try to manage the clock a little more but (Sunday) we said we’re going to be aggressive.”
MILES SANDERS
Staying aggressive meant mixing in passes more often than just running and trying to drain the clock.
So, the running game wasn’t as devastating as in previous games, but was effective nonetheless, with 111 yards on 20 runs. Sanders led the way with nine carries for 78 yards and scored an 11-yard touchdown, his fifth of the season.
Jalen Hurts had just two rushes for 10 yards.
“We were (thinking) a lot coming off the bye week with our record being what it is and all the hype around us," said Sanders. “Coming back and playing the Steelers and just trying to play penalty-free, clean football and protecting the football, too. That’s what we were (thinking) about and it’s good to come away with a win.”
SACK ATTACK
The Eagles had six sacks to bring their season total to 23, which marks the Eagles’ most through seven games since 2009 when they also had 23.
THE YOUNG D-TACKLES
Second-year players Marlon Tuipulotu and Milton Williams played strong games. Each had a sack.
For Tuipulotu, it was the first of his career.
For Williams, it was his first of the season and third of his career.
They each had one QB hurry and Williams batted a ball down at the line of scrimmage.
JORDAN DAVIS
The rookie DT suffered what was reported as a high ankle sprain and that is usually a four-to-six-week injury.
If that’s the case, he could be headed for IR, which opens up a world of possibility.
Perhaps Roseman looks for a stopgap in the trade market. The deadline for making deals is Tuesday at 4 p.m.
Or maybe Marvin Wilson gets called up from the practice squad.
HISTORY AWAITS
The Eagles have never begun a season 8-0. If they beat the Texans, they will have achieved that. BetOnline has installed Philly as 13-point favorites against the 1-5-1 Texans.
NOTES TO KNOW
- Goedert had six catches for 64 yards, with three coming on third down totaling 30 yards, and one on fourth down for seven yards, which was good for a fresh set of downs.
- Jalen Hurts threw four passing touchdowns of 25-plus yards, falling just one such touchdown pass short of the all-time record in a single game, held by Dan Marino (Week 1, 1994).
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
