The Eagles welcome their state rival Pittsburgh Steelers to Philadelphia with the chance to win their 10th straight game, which would be the longest win streak in franchise history. The Steelers have not won a game in Philadelphia since 1965; the last time the two teams met, the Eagles dominated, winning the game 35-13. In that game, AJ Brown had 156 yards and THREE receiving touchdowns; ironically, before that game, AJ Brown was complaining about the passing game and lack of targets, which is all we've seen in Philly media since last week's game. The last Jalen Hurts faced the Steelers, he threw for 285 yards and four touchdowns, putting up an 84.6 QBR. Philly is 3-0 against AFC North opponents so far this season, beating the Browns 20-16, the Bengals 37-17, and the Ravens 24-19.
Game Info
Date: December 15th, 2024
Start Time: 4:25 PM ET
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Stadium: Lincoln Financial Field
TV Info: FOX (Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady the call)
Eagles Uniform Info: Green helmet, green jerseys, white pants
Steelers Statistical Rankings
Points Per Game: 24.8 (10th)
Points Allowed Per Game: 18.3 (5th)
Offensive Yards Per Game: 338.1 (17th)
Passing/Rushing Yards Per Game: 206.0 (23rd) | 132.1 (9th)
Defensive Yards Allowed Per Game: 310.2 (7th)
Passing/Rushing Yards Allowed Per Game: 218.6 (17th) | 91.5 (4th)
Third Down Offensive/Defensive Conversion Rate: 39.4% (12th) | 35.2% (2nd)
Red Zone Offensive/Defensive Conversion Rate: 45.6% (29th) | 53.6% (13th)
Penalties: 85 (29th)
Penalty Yardage: 689 (19th)
Players Already Ruled Out
Steelers: LB Cole Holcomb, DT Montravius Adams
Eagles: TE Dallas Goedert, LB Ben VanSumeren
Pittsburgh Steelers
Defense
The Steelers' defense has been imposing this season, ranking within the top 10 in opponent points per game, opponent yards per game, opponent yards per play, and opponent touchdowns per game. They have held their opponents to under 20 points in eight of their 13 games! The only team to score over 20 points against Pittsburgh this season are the Colts, Cowboys, Commanders, Browns, and Bengals. They are also one of two teams to hold the Ravens to under 20 points, the Eagles being the other. They allow the fourth-fewest rush yards per game at 91.5; this week will be their toughest test yet, going up against the best-rushing defense in the league, posting 190.5 YPG and having over 100 rushing yards in each of their 13 games played.
Game wrecker TJ Watt has 9.5 sacks, 17 tackles for loss, and three pass deflections on the year. He leads the team in sacks and TFLs. He doesn't have any interceptions this year, but he has forced five fumbles. Free Agent signing Patrick Queen leads the team in tackles with 98, along with five TFLs and five PDs. They have 15 interceptions and 13 fumble recoveries as a team, averaging a league-high 2.2 takeaways per game. Their 28 takeaways also lead the league; forcing a few turnovers could be huge for the Steelers in this game. The Eagles have 11 turnovers on the season and have done an excellent job protecting the football lately.
Offense
The Steelers offense puts up the 10th most points per game, posting 24.8 per contest, going up against a Philly defense that gives up just 18 PPG. Their offensive attack is very even, running the ball 51.6% of the time while passing it 48.4%. They average the second most rush attempts per game but rank only 9th in yards per game, primarily because despite running as much as they do, they average just 3.9 yards per carry, 29th in the league. RB1 Najee Harris has 223 carries on the year for 877 yards, five touchdowns, and 3.9 YPC. He’s had three games over 100 yards rushing; strangely enough, those three games were in succession in weeks 6-8. Backup RB Jaylen Warren has contributed to the Pittsburgh run game, getting the ball 87 times for 359 yards and one touchdown averaging 4.1 a pop.
The Steelers' passing game has seen two different QBs this season: Justin Fields started, and Russell Wilson took over in Week 7. With Fields, the team went 4-2 with losses to the Colts and Cowboys. With Wilson, they are 6-1 with a loss to the Browns. Wilson has been better with Pittsburgh than he was with Denver the past couple of seasons so far; he has 1,784 yards with 12 TDs and three interceptions. He also has over DOUBLE Fields' passing yards per game at 254.9. George Pickens leads the team in receiving yards with 850; he also has three of the team's 17 receiving TDs; TE Pat Freiermuth leads the team with five.
Philadelphia Eagles
Defense
The Eagles defense hasn't allowed over 20 points in a game since Week 9 against the Jaguars; they're currently allowing the second-fewest PPG in the NFL at 18! They hold an opponent to the fewest yards per game and yards per play, allowing the third lowest third down conversion percentage at 34.4%. Russell Wilson and company should give this secondary only a few issues, especially if George Pickens doesn't play. The secondary is giving up the fifth-lowest completion percentage at 61.7% while giving up the second-fewest pass yards per game and fewest yards per pass. Game by game, Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean strengthen their DROY cases. At the same time, the veterans who struggled early in the season have stepped it up big time as the season has gone on.
The Eagles' run game should also be able to keep Najee Harris in check. They rank top 10 in opponent yards per rush (9th), opponent rush yards per game (8th), and opponent rushing TDs per game (6th). The Birds are yet to allow a single player to rush for 100 yards in a game against them, Bijan Robinson being the closest with 97 yards, and Chuba Hubbard just put up 92 yards on 26 carries last week. Only four RBs have eclipsed over 50 rushing yards against Philly, and while Harris is a solid back, with he way he's been playing and how strong this defense is, it's not super likely he has the biggest impact in this game. However, the same could've been said about Hubbard last week.
Offense
With how good this offense has looked, a big part of it being due to Saquon Barkley and his MVP-like performances, Jalen Hurts is again flying under the radar. When he's turning the ball over, all you see is the media and NFL fans tearing him apart. Still, when he's playing well, it's because of the team, and all of a sudden, he's a game manager. So let's clear this up: Jalen Hurts isn't an MVP candidate or anything crazy, but he has been one of the best QBs in the NFL this season and has been playing his role perfectly, knowing when to step up and when to take a step back and allow Saquon to shine. During this win streak, Jalen Hurts has 1,672 passing yards, 381 rushing yards, 23 total TDs, ONE interception, and a 114 passer rating, all while completing 69% of his passes. He has been especially great late in games, having the same number of touchdowns as interceptions, with five of each.
Now, let's touch on the Eagles offense as a team. They rank within the top 10 in points per game (8th), yards per game (7th), touchdowns per game (6th), rush yards per game (1st), yards per rush (2nd), completion percentage (10th), yards per pass (6th), and turnover margin (9th). They have been strongest when running the football but are still efficient through the air and still have plenty of weapons for air attack. DeVonta Smith will return this week, and of course, AJ Brown is still out there. Dallas Goedert will miss his second straight game this week, but Grant Calcaterra has held it down when needed this season.
Betting Info
Points Spread: PHI -5.5 (-122) | PIT +5.5 (-102)
Moneyline: PHI (-250) | PIT (+205)
Over/Under: O 42.5 (-110) | U 42.5 (-110)
Lines Via Draft Kings as of 12/11/24
Prediction
The Eagles should be able to neutralize everybody on the Steelers' offense, and despite how good their defense is, Saquon Barkley should continue him dominance against Pittsburgh. He faced the best-rushing defense in the league in Baltimore and became the first player this season to have 100+ yards on the ground against them. It should be a low-scoring affair, but Philly will find a way to win their 10th straight game comfortably enough.
Final Score: Eagles 23, Steelers 16
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