The Pittsburgh Steelers are on the road again as they travel to the city of brotherly love for their Week 8 matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles.
To dive inside Pittsburgh's 6-0 opponent, we went behind enemy lines and got the answers fans should know about the Eagles. Ed Kracz, Publisher of Eagles Today, lays out everything the Steelers, and their Nation, are wondering ahead of kickoff.
What has made Jalen Hurts so effective this season?
Kracz: I think two big reasons for his success has to do with his desire to improve ad his work ethic.
He spent time with the QB guru, Tom House, and his staff in California for a portion of the offseason and recently revealed that, in his never-ending quest to be better, has conversations with the Eagles’ defensive coaches, in particular defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon. He asks Gannon how he would defend him if they weren’t on the same team.
Perhaps the biggest reason, though, is that he has returned to the same offense for the first time since he was coached by his dad in high school in Houston. He had different play callers for six years dating to his time at Alabama and then Oklahoma.
In his first NFL season he had Doug Pederson, but Hurts has now had to the same head coach in Nick Sirianni, the same OC in Shane Steichen, and the same QB coach in Brian Johnson.
That stability has helped him to be more comfortable within the offense and make quicker decisions.
Has Miles Sanders season been what the Eagles expected it to be?
Kracz: It was difficult to have any sort of expectations for Sanders after injuries hampered him the past two seasons, limiting him to just 12 games each of the past two years.
He is playing for a new contract so it is important for him to battle through whatever aches and pains he may have had in the past. The desire for a new contract, either in Philly or elsewhere, has him running with more purpose, taking what’s there instead of trying to bounce everything outside.
In the offseason, he rededicated himself to a workout regimen and it has paid off.
He was inexplicably held without a touchdown last year, too, and at times it seemed like the Eagles were trying to force him into the end zone inside the red zone when it may not have been the best play call. He already has 4 touchdowns this season and is on pace for his first 1,000-yard season.
Of course, he has to remain healthy.
Will Robert Quinn Play for the Eagles against the Steelers?
Kracz: I think there’s a very good chance Quinn will have some sort of role. He’s a veteran who is now on his fifth team, so he can acclimate quickly. The challenge, as it is for any newcomer, will be the playbook, but even there Quinn has played in a scheme similar to what the DC runs in Philly.
The Eagles acquired Chauncey Gardner-Johnson on Aug. 30, after training camp and the preseason, and had him play 97% of the snaps 12 days later in the season opener at Detroit.
So, some kind of role will probably take shape for Quinn.
Jeremy Fowler anticipates this is a trap game for the Eagles. Do you see them possibly overlooking the Steelers?
Kracz: I’m not sure what would make this a trap game other than they have to hit the road on a short week and play the Texans in Houston four days later.
Maybe the bye will impact them in some way, too, in that it could take them a little while to fire up the jets again after their layoff.
I’m not sure that it would be wise to overlook an organization with the tradition of Pittsburgh and I don’t think the Eagles will do that.
It’s interesting to note, though, that the Eagles had the same record as Pittsburgh last year at 2-5 then turned their season around to finish 9-8 and make the playoffs.
Give me one under-the-radar player fans should know about.
Kracz: It might be a stretch to say that RT Lane Johnson is under the radar, but the three-time Pro Bowler and two-time AP All-Pro doesn’t seem to get much respect around the league. He wasn’t even among the top 100 players in a poll of players that ran this summer. Yet, the Eagles have had a losing record without him in the lineup ever since he was drafted by Philly 10 years ago. According to PFF, he hasn’t given up a sack since Week 11 of 2020.
On defense, it’s probably LB T.J. Edwards, a former undrafted free agent out of Wisconsin in 2019. He worked his way up the depth chart through the years before finally being installed as a starter midway through last season and finished second on the team in tackles with 125. He leads them in tackles this season with 55 and though he isn’t the greatest coverage LB, he has improved in that area.
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