The Pittsburgh Steelers are attempting to break an incredibly long streak on Sunday. They’ll travel across Pennsylvania to take on the Philadelphia Eagles. They haven’t won in Philly in almost 60 years.
But Eagles QB Jalen Hurts knows that the history between the two teams doesn’t guarantee a win. He knows just how tough a game lies ahead. Part of that is thanks to the Steelers’ defensive personnel. And part of that is thanks to having played other AFC North teams this season.
“They got a great player over there, T.J. Watt, and then Minkah, all-around safety, all-around defensive back,” said Hurts during his Wednesday press conference per the Eagles’ X/Twitter profile. “The culture they have, you feel it, their coach is amazing. How he does what he does and leads, and it’ll be a battle. So it’ll be a battle. You know, playing a division is definitely a challenge. And they got a lot of great teams, a lot of great talent, and we just have to be ready.”
And Hurts should expect to see a lot of Watt, Alex Highsmith, and company on Sunday. As Eagles analyst Fran Duffy pointed out on X/Twitter, Hurts is holding onto the ball a lot this season. And those super-long drops aren’t translating to big plays. So the Steelers’ pass rushers will have a chance to make an impact on Sunday in Philly.
But it’s going to be a big battle for everyone involved. The Eagles will have to figure out how to slow the Steelers’ pass rush and limit their big plays. But the Steelers defense will have its hands full with trying to slow down RB Saquon Barkley. Barkley leads the league currently in rushing attempts (266), rushing yards (1,623), yards per attempt (6.1), and yards per game (124.8). You better believe that the defensive line and linebacker corps will be battling every time Hurts turns around and hands the ball off to Barkley.
As for the AFC North experience, the Eagles have already played the other three teams in the Steelers’ division. On Sunday, the Eagles will be looking for a clean sweep. But Philly beat the Baltimore Ravens and the Cleveland Browns by one score, so this could be a very close, very tight game.
Both the Eagles and the Steelers know it will be a hard-fought battle between the two Pennsylvania teams.
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