Eagles Defense Falters in 38-29 Loss to Steelers

PITTSBURGH – A Jake Elliott 57-yard field goal try with 3 minutes, 18 seconds left was just wide to the right, and with it went the Eagles chances of winning a second straight game.

The miss gave the Steelers good field position that they cashed on for their final points and on the fourth touchdown of the game by rookie receiver Chase Claypool in a 38-29 win, which kept Pittsburgh unbeaten at 4-0.

Elliott was bidding to give the Eagles (1-3-1) their first lead of the game at 32-31 when he came up inches wide.

Head coach Doug Pederson opted to try the field goal after a third-and-five throw to Travis Fulgham fell incomplete.

“Felt comfortable where we were on the field, obviously,” said Pederson about deciding to kick the field goal rather than keep the offense on the field to try to pick up a fourth-and-five. “It was a tough situation to be in that fourth-and-long situation there, and well within Jake’s range to kick the field goal.”

It was the rare misfire between Wentz and Fulgham all game long. Fulgham looks like he could be developing into the No. 1 receiver weapon Wentz needs, with 10 catches for 152 yards and a four-yard TD on 13 targets.

“Just something we have to continue to build on and get all our skill guys in that position,” said Pederson. “I know our quarterback feels comfortable with him and they work extremely hard during the week. It showed with them (Sunday).”

Fulgham became the first Eagles receiver with more than 100 yards since Alshon Jeffery had nine catches for 137 against the Miami Dolphins on De. 1, 2019, and the first with at least 10 catches since Zach Ertz had 12 for 91 yards on Nov. 24, 2019, against the Seattle Seahawks.

Speaking of Ertz, he continues his season-long struggles and had only one catch for six yards on six targets. He and Wentz have just simply not been on the same page all season long, and a miscommunication between them led to the first of two more Wentz interceptions in the game.

“They give him a lot of respect,” said Pederson about Ertz. “It’s something that, too, I think he’s got to take a look at himself as we all do, and we just got to keep working and fighting and we got to as coaches find ways to get him uncovered so we can use him a little bit more.”

The Eagles fell behind 31-14 with 10:32 to play in the third quarter but rallied back.

Wentz threw two touchdowns – the one to Fulgham and an 8-yard toss to Greg Ward - but he also now has nine interceptions this season to six touchdowns.

“I think there are some things to be encouraged about (Sunday),” said Wentz, who threw for 258 yards with 20 completions in 35 attempts and a passer rating of 75.7. "We're so close, we're so close. Finishing some drives offensively, taking care of the football. Defense is so close. Last week they had big turnovers and things. It's right there. We're right there."

The defense notched one turnover when Duke Riley hit tight end Eric Ebron to force a fumble Cre'Von LeBlanc recovered at their own 45. It was the play that helped lead to the Elliott field goal try that missed.

Wentz was sacked five times while the Eagles defensive line, which had produced 13 sacks in their previous two games, got ton Ben Roethlisberger only once, with Fletcher Cox and former Steeler Javon Hargrave sharing it.

The Eagles defense had no answer for Claypool, who was drafted two spots ahead of Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. Hurts, incidentally, had his first completion as a pro, an 18-yard throw to tight end Richard Rodgers.

The Eagles played from behind all game long, though they did notch ties at 7-7 and 14-14 on two touchdowns from Miles Sanders.

Playing in his hometown against the team he rooted for growing up, Sanders had a 74-yard touchdown run to knot the game at 7-7 with seven seconds left in the first quarter. He added a 1-yard burst that even things up at 14-14 with 6:17 to go in the second quarter.

Sanders finished with 80 yards on 11 carries.

Roethlisberger was 27-for-34 for 239 yards and three touchdowns for a passer rating of 125.4. On third down, he was 13-for-13 for 158 yards and two touchdowns as Pittsburgh converted 11 of 15 third downs.

“We just didn’t execute well,” said safety Rodney McLeod, who had seven tackles and one pass breakup. “That was a point of emphasis coming into this game, and every game, honestly.

"If we want an opportunity to win the game, we have to perform well on third down, in the red zone, and turnovers. Those situations matter. We came up short … A lot of it was self-inflicted, whether it was penalties or us just not executing the way that we have in the past.”

The Eagles will host the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday at 1 p.m.

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