Inside the Eagles: A Deep Dive Into the Steelers' Week 5 Opponent
Who: Philadelphia Eagles (1-2-1) at Pittsburgh Steelers (3-0)
When: Sunday, October 11 at 1:00 PM ET
Where: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PA
Network: FOX
Spread: Steelers (-7)
I don't want to speak too soon, but... it appears as if we may once again have Pittsburgh Steelers football. After an unwanted week four bye week due to a plethora of Tennessee Titans players/personnel testing positive for COVID-19, the Steelers return to action at Heinz Field while welcoming fellow keystone state and the NFC East leading Philadelphia Eagles.
Philadelphia leading their division through a quarter of the season? Impressive. The Eagles having a losing record while doing so? Even more impressive.
With approximately 5,500 fans set to be in attendance for the first time this season, the Steelers look to improve to 4-0 for the first time since 1979. With the two meeting a mere five times since the turn of the millennium, the Eagles currently hold a 3-2 lead over Pittsburgh since 2000.
Philadelphia returns from defeating the defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers for their first victory of the year, securing their first win in style.
Now, the Eagles look to reach their second win of the season in enemy territory. You'll see them for a minimum of sixty minutes come Sunday, and much like the Steelers, you might want to be a tad familiar with them prior to kickoff.
After going undercover in Philadelphia and eating countless cheesesteaks after throwing snowballs at Santa Claus (okay I lied), I've gathered enough intel to give you a very good feel on Philadelphia heading into week five.
I present to you, a deep dive into the Philadelphia Eagles:
Offense By The Numbers
Yardage
Total Yards: 319 YPG (28th)
Passing Yards: 207 YPG (27th)
Rushing Yards: 111.5 YPG (18th)
Scoring
Total Points: 21 PPG (26th)
Turnovers
Turnover Differential: -5 (T-29th)
Passing
Completion Percentage: 60.6% (28th)
Yards Per Attempt: 5.8 (T-32nd)
Passer Rating: 66.9 (32nd)
Sacks Allowed: 14 (T-30th)
Interceptions: 7 (1st)
Rushing
Rushing Attempts: 107 (16th)
Yards Per Carry: 4.2 (T-14th)
Rushing Touchdowns: 4 (T-14th)
Other
First Downs: 89 (T-18th)
Third Down Conversion %: 43.3% (15th)
Fourth Down Conversions: 2/5 (T-24th)
TD in Red Zone %: 55.56% (24th)
Offensive Personnel Usage
*Personnel are used/described in numbers. The first number represents the amount of running backs, whereas the second number represents the amount of tight ends in the formation. To find the number of receivers, subtract the numbers used from five.*
In example, if an offense uses 1-1 (eleven) personnel, they're utilizing one running back and one tight end, thus using a three-receiver set. (1+1+3=5). In an 1-3 personnel, the offense has just one receiver on the field, with one running back, three tight ends and one receiver.
1-1 personnel: 43% of plays
1-2 personnel: 52% of plays
2-1 personnel: 2% of plays
1-3 personnel: 1% of plays
2-2 personnel: 1% of plays
0-2 personnel: 1% of plays
Note: The Eagles are just one of eight teams in the NFL to not utilize 1-1 personnel as a majority of their personnel packages. They're also by far the number one team that deploys a 1-2 personnel, with the next highest team deploying the two tight end set at a 30% rate.
Offensive Overview
QB- Carson Wentz
The second overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft has endured a rough start to 2020, as his sack rate and amount of interceptions are indeed a recipe for offensive disaster. Whether it be the lack of weapons surrounding him, his make-shift offensive line or perhaps a combination of both, many believe Wentz to be a scapegoat of Philly's offensive problems. Last Sunday night saw Wentz and the rest of the Eagles offensive team respond with their backs against the wall in a season high 25 point effort. The accuracy hasn't quite been there for Wentz, yet he still holds the capabilities to make throws and do damage on the ground with his legs. It'll be up to Pittsburgh's defense to prove his statistical shortcomings aren't phony.
RB- Miles Sanders, Boston Scott, Corey Clement
Philadelphia's rushing offense starts and begins with Miles Sanders, as he has performed considerably well in his new role as Philly's RB1. Sanders is used in both rushing (4.6 ypc) or passing (19 targets) facets of the game. With Sanders only playing about 60% of snaps, the Eagles favor keeping him fresh with the talents of Boston Scott and Corey Clement. While both are capable of also handling dual-threat duties, Scott outpaces Clement in snaps, rushing attempts and targets. Look for Scott to spell Sanders when he's not running the show.
WR- Greg Ward, John Hightower, Travis Fulgham, Deontay Burnett Alshon Jeffery, DeSean Jackson, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, Jalen Reagor
Man, have the Eagles been infested with the injury bug at the receiver position. Last Sunday night saw Philadelphia play only four receivers thanks to Jeffery/Jackson/Whiteside/Reagor not being available, although Reagor was placed on injured reserve with the remaining three receivers listed ruled out prior to practicing in limited variations last week. To this point, Philadelphia's top receiver has come in the form of former undrafted free agent Greg Ward, who currently leads the Eagles in receiving yards (146) and second only to tight end Zach Ertz in targets (26).
Ward has been Wentz's top receiving option thus far, and should the big body of Jeffery or the speedy presence of Jackson still remain unavailable this week, that may be the same in Pittsburgh on Sunday. Rookie receiver John Hightower actually paced the position in snaps last Sunday, as his early development has been a nice change of pace for a banged up Eagles receiving corps. Philadelphia's receiving corps largely remains unexperienced heading into Sunday, should Jackson/Jeffery not play.
TE- Zach Ertz, Richard Rodgers, Hakeem Butler
The tight end position is where the Eagles make their money, with perhaps the best tight end duo in the league coming in the form of Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert. Unfortunately for Philly, Goedert now sits on IR for a second week and will not be in the plans for Pittsburgh. Richard Rodgers handled TE2 duties for the Eagles last week, playing 35.5% of snaps. The team also signed Hakeem Butler when Goedert was placed on IR, as he could see his Eagles debut come this week as well.
With Goedert out, it appears the Eagles still will use two tight end sets frequently, yet Ertz (Philly's leading pass-catcher in receptions) looks to be alone in the aerial attack.
Offensive Line
If Philadelphia's receiving corps has been bit by the injury bug, the Eagles' offensive line is infested. There was a point in week four where center Jason Kelce was the only remaining starter in the trenches due to injury. The team have lost left tackle Andre Dillard, left guard Isaac Seumalu, right/left tackle Jason Peters and right guard Brandon Brooks all prior to week five, with right tackle Lane Johnson dealing with an ankle injury as well.
Case in point: The Eagles are dealing with a less than ideal situation upfront.
Philadelphia's starting offensive line should look something like this on Sunday:
LT- Jordan Mailata
LG- Nate Herbig
C- Jason Kelce
RG- Matt Pryor
RT- Lane Johnson
Should Johnson not be able to power through his injury, Jack Driscoll would take his place.
Although Kelce is one of the best at his position and Johnson remains solid when healthy, there's no doubting Philadelphia's problems upfront. With Wentz already being one of the most sacked quarterbacks in the league, they'll have their work cut out for them against one of the best front seven's in the league this week.
Defense By The Numbers
Yardage
Total Yards: 352.3 YPG (10th)
Passing Yards: 243.5 YPG (17th)
Rushing Yards: 108.8 YPG (12th)
Scoring
Total Points: 26.8 PPG (20th)
Turnovers
Turnovers Generated: 4 (T-19th)
Passing
Completion Percentage: 68% (22nd)
Passer Rating: 100.0 (20th)
Sacks: 17 (1st)
Rushing
Yards Per Carry: 3.9 (7th)
Rushing Touchdowns: 6 (T-25th)
Other
Blitz rate: 23.2% (T-24th)
First Downs: 97 (23rd)
Third Down Conversion %: 37% (T-5th)
Fourth Down Conversions: 2/4 (T-15th)
TD in Red Zone %: 68.75% (23rd)
Defensive Overview
Defensive Line
DE- Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett, Josh Sweat
DT- Fletcher Cox, Malik Jackson, Javon Hargrave
Philadelphia's defense currently leads the league in sacks, and that's very much due to the dominant play of Philadelphia's defensive line. The pass rush starts with Graham/Sweat on the outside, as both have three sacks to their name. Barnett, playing 40% of snaps as a rotational piece, has 2.5 sacks to his name as well.
The interior remains strong, with one of the game's more dominant interior defensive linemen in Fletcher Cox anchoring Philly's defense. Malik Jackson fills the other defensive tackle spot in the Eagles 4-3 base defense, with former Steeler Javon Hargrave still finding his way into their defense as a rotational piece.
While the Eagles lead the league in sacks, teams also find it difficult to run against their front four, as Philadelphia allows just under four yards per carry to running backs.
Linebackers- Nathan Gerry, Duke Riley, T.J. Edwards, Alex Singleton, Genard Avery
Outside linebacker Nathan Gerry currently leads Philadelphia in tackles with 33 through four games, ranking just outside the top ten league-wide for tackles. Gerry headlines a linebacking corps that features Riley on the other side of the ball and Edwards manning middle linebacker duties. Linebacker Alex Singleton was the hero of Sunday Night Football, taking back an interception for a touchdown in the late stages of the game to secure a victory.
Genard Avery is also a name to watch as a situational pass-rusher, registering five QB hits on just 16 defensive snaps in week four.
Secondary
CB- Darius Slay, Avonte Maddox, Nickell Robey-Coleman, Cre'Von LeBlanc
FS- Rodney McLeod, K'Von Wallace
SS- Jalen Mills, Marcus Epps
Philadelphia's secondary is headlined by free agent acquisition Darius Slay, considered to be one of the best at his position. To this point, Slay has allowed just 30.5 yards per contest. Opposite of Slay plays Avonte Maddox, and starting at nickelback is Cre'von LeBlanc.
Rookie safety K'Von Wallace started in place of Jalen Mills (Mills moved to CB) before being out-snapped by fellow safety Marcus Epps down the depths of the game. Free Safety Rodney McLeod is the only defensive player to play every snap of 2020 thus far, and one of three to do so throughout the whole team (Kelce/Wentz are the other two).
Also notable: McLeod was named the NFLPA's Community MVP last week after distributing 40,000 pounds of fresh food for families and assisting with voter registration.
Interview With Eagle Maven's Ed Kracz
If you've made it this far, congratulations! Your attention span is phenomenal and your knowledge of the Eagles is now close to being infinite. The only thing missing? Insight from somebody on the other side of things.
That's where Ed Kracz, senior publisher of Sports Illustrated's Eagle Maven, comes in. I joined forces with Ed to gain some insight on the Steelers/Eagles match-up in the video below.
Donnie Druin is a Staff Writer with AllSteelers. Follow Donnie on Twitter @DonnieDruin, and AllSteelers @si_steelers.
