The Philadelphia Eagles are 12-2 after beating the Pittsburgh Steelers!
‘Twas a pretty badass victory for the Birds, who set a new franchise record for their longest winning streak at 10 games.
Time to hand out some winners, losers, and IDKs.
WINNERS
JALEN HURTS
Following the aftermath of last week, all eyes were on Hurts and the Eagles’ passing attack entering this game.
And despite dealing with a broken finger on his non-throwing hand, Hurts stepped up and delivered in a big way.
He was decisive. He was accurate. He was aggressive. He was in complete control.
The Steelers entered Week 15 allowing the second-lowest average passer rating in the NFL at 79.2. Hurts’ passing numbers against Pittsburgh: 25/32 (78.1% completion), 290 yards (9.1 average), 2 TD, 0 INT, 125.3 passer rating.
That’s to go with 15 carries for 45 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown … plus one lost fumble, which was the only significant blemish from an otherwise stellar showing.
The Eagles can absolutely win the Super Bowl if Hurts looks this sharp in the playoffs. This was a confidence-inspiring performance.
THE EAGLES’ BALL CONTROL OFFENSE
The hallmark of a truly great Eagles team is when the offense is able to close a game out with a long, emasculating drive that kills the clock through pure imposition. And that’s exactly what they did in this one.
Starting at their own 1.5-yard line after an A.J. Brown false start, the Eagles ran 21 plays to move 88 yards and take 10:29 off the clock to win the game. That’s special:
And it wasn’t just about that drive. It was the case for the entire second half of the game.
- Eagles’ 1st drive of the second half: 13 plays, 47 yards, 3 points, 7:08 off the clock
- Eagles’ 2nd drive of the second half: 13 plays, 74 yards, 7 points, 6:33 off the clock
- Eagles’ 3rd drive of the second half: 21 plays, 88 yards, 10:29 off the clock
The Steelers were limited to just two possessions in the second half!
THE EAGLES’ PLAYOFF OUTLOOK
Two things:
1) With the Eagles winning and the Detroit Lions losing, the Birds have a legitimate chance at a first-round bye.
2) The way the Eagles won this game was very encouraging. Again, their ceiling is winning the Super Bowl when they’re able to play like this.
A.J. BROWN
A.J. was right to call out the Eagles’ lackluster passing attack following their Week 14 win. He challenged the team to be better in this regard and they answered. That’s leadership.
Running the ball effectively is great and all but the Eagles can’t forget that Brown is pretty unstoppable. It’s pretty insane that he only saw four targets last weekend.
Against the Steelers, Brown logged 11 targets for eight receptions, a team-high 110 receiving yards, and one touchdown. Simply put, good things happen when the ball goes his way.
DEVONTA SMITH
Oh, that’s right … DeVonta’s pretty good, too.
Smitty was targeted 12 times for 11 catches, 109 yards, and one touchdown of his own.
11 receptions is a new career-high for Smith; he previously had 10 against the Arizona Cardinals in 2022.
109 receiving yards is a season-high for Smith, surpassing the 87 he had in Week 9. 109 is also the ninth-most he’s ever had in one game (including playoffs).
Throw the ball to A.J. and DeVonta and good things happen!
NICK SIRIANNI
Given the hullabaloo in the lead up to this game, Sunday felt like a big inflection point for the 2024 Eagles.
It seemed like the Eagles might’ve been in a position to crumble following an uninspiring Week 14 win and the ensuing bad vibes.
But Sirianni didn’t let that happen.
There were encouraging signs of stability leading up to this game:
And, sure enough, they backed up their words with action.
Sirianni clearly pushed the right motivational buttons before this game. The Eagles looked ready to play. They looked like a well-coached team.
KELLEN MOORE
The Steelers entered Week 15 allowing just 310.2 yards per game, seventh-fewest in the NFL.
The Eagles’ offense produced 410 yards.
It wasn’t just about the numbers, though. This offense passed the eye test. For the most part, it looked well-coordinated and in sync.
KENNY GAINWELL
I’ve been hard on Kenny G and the team’s usage of him in the past. I still think it was crazy for the Eagles to try to make him a lead back over D’Andre Swift last year!
But, hey, credit where credit is due: this was a pretty awesome game by Gainwell. The box score doesn’t tell the whole story with seven runs for just 20 yards (2.9 average) and three catches for 40 yards.
Gainwell made impact plays, however, by catching two third down passes well short of the sticks before making defenders miss to pick up crucial first downs.
40 receiving yards is the sixth-most by Gainwell in his career (including playoffs).
He’s had a pretty solid season as RB2. The guess here is he’s pricing himself out of the Eagles bringing him back. Gainwell could get a solid contract in free agency after this season.
BRANDON GRAHAM
You thought BG’s comments that raised concern about the Hurts-Brown relationship were unproductive?
You thought wrong!
Whether intentional or not (very likely the latter), Graham’s comments ended up being a four-dimensional chess move.
Somehow, his comments created a perception that The Big Bad Monolithic Media was out to get the Eagles by inventing drama where there was none.
The team then rallied around the concept of proving the haters and doubters wrong.
Hey, whatever works!
VIC FANGIO
The Steelers’ first five drives: 16 plays for -19 yards.
The Eagles only gave up three points on those because the Steelers took over at the plus 11-yard line after recovering a fumbled punt return.
The Steelers’ sole touchdown drive was aided by a bogus unnecessary roughness penalty called on Reed Blankenship that turned 2nd-and-2 at the plus 45-yard line into 1st-and-10 at the plus 30-yard line.
The Steelers’ second field goal drive was aided in no small part by the Eagles offense running three plays for -14 yards before a bad 29-yard punt allowed Pittsburgh to take over at the plus 45-yard line. And even then the Eagles only allowed the Steelers to pick up 14 yards on five plays before Chris Bowell made a 49-yard kick.
The argument here is that the Eagles’ defense played even better than giving up just 13 points would suggest.
In fairness, Fangio’s defense was aided by the Eagles’ dominant ball-control offense and a fluky Najee Harris fumble on a toss play. But the Eagles’ defense was also probably due for some good fumble luck after having some misfortune in that regard recently.
And, really, this unit earns any luck with how dominant and well-coordinated they are.
The Eagles are the only team in the NFL to hold 3 opponents under 175 total yards in a game this season.
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@brandonleegowton.bsky.social) 2024-12-16T02:29:49.057Z
NOLAN SMITH
Smith’s second-year progress has been really encouraging to see. He’s now up to 5.5 sacks and 10 QB hits this season. Smith also had two TFLs and a big pass deflection in this game. He brings really good energy and effort to the table.
JOSH SWEAT
Sweat’s up to eight sacks with three games left to play. He’s currently three sacks shy of tying his career-high that he set in 2022 with 11.
Sweat only had 6.5 sacks in 2023. Good bounce-back year for him.
DARIUS SLAY
Probably not ideal for Slay to put himself in a position where a ref might interpret his effort to break free from a block as a punch and thus automatic ejection! But respect to him for 1) not taking the Steelers’ bullshit, 2) sparking an emotional response by the rest of the defense, and 3) ultimately baiting the Steelers into two penalties that knocked them back and forced them to settle for a field goal instead of having 2nd-and-3 at the 4-yard line.
Slay also recovered the fumble on the Steelers’ botched toss run.
JAKE ELLIOTT
No misses!
2/2 from field goal range with makes from 34 and 41. Plus a make from 48 that was nullified due to a Steelers penalty to extend an Eagles drive.
3/3 on extra points.
Still looking for his first make from 50+ … but still a nice rebound after last weekend.
LOSERS
RUSSELL WILSON
The Eagles FINALLY beat Russ.
Prior to Sunday, they were 0-6 against him dating back to 2014.
He’s obviously not quite what he used to be but he’s still had a good season.
THE STEELERS WHENEVER THEY’RE IN PHILADELPHIA
The Steelers still haven’t won in Philadelphia since 1965.
Pittsburgh losing 11 straight road games to the Eagles is the longest road losing streak against a single opponent in Steelers franchise history.
MIKE TOMLIN
In the moment (read: not just hindsight), I thought the Steelers head coach was mistaken for not going for it while down 14 points from 4th-and-7 at the plus 46-yard line.
Punting seemed pretty unwise considering the Eagles only needed to move into field goal range to make it a three-possession game. And the Eagles had just gone on two long scoring drives.
Had the Steelers successfully converted, they would’ve had a chance to make it a one-possession game. And even if they turned it over on downs, that wouldn’t have been the worst case scenario since an Eagles score would’ve happened faster than it would’ve following a punt. Time was more valuable than field position there.
The Steelers’ cowardice was punished by the Football Gods with Pittsburgh never possessing the ball again.
Tomlin’s a really good coach but he was outdone by Sirianni on Sunday.
PRIMANTI BROS
When it comes to eating, I’ve enjoyed my trips to Pittsburgh in the past. I was an especially big fan of the Hog Heaven sandwich at Fuel and Fuddle (RIP).
But one of the most disappointing food experiences I’ve ever had was when I went to the original Primanti Bros location in Pittsburgh’s Strip District.
I really wanted their sandwich stuffed with fries to be good! I thought it would be. I’m not a picky eater by any means and I’m in the mindset of rooting for the food to be good. But the fries just weren’t even any good! Maybe it was just one bad experience and they deserve another try. I don’t know. I’ll probably give it another try one day to be fair to them.
But sometimes places do have bad fries. See: In-N-Out. I love their burgers but their fries are dreadful. I just don’t understand how you can mess up fries so badly. There are plenty of places that offer mediocre executions of fries that would be major upgrades on these bad versions.
Getting back to Primanti Bros … if your gimmick is going to be stuffing fries in your sandwich, the fries can’t be bad!
SHEETZ
Eagles > Steelers means Wawa > Sheetz.
Wawa, if you’re reading this, please send me free stuff. Thank you.
I DON’T KNOWS
SAQUON BARKLEY
The Steelers were clearly focused on stopping Saquon, so, it’s not surprising that he was only held to 65 yards on 19 carries (mere 3.4 average).
I don’t know how much — if at all — Barkley’s injury issues were limiting him. He seemed to be in discomfort at times on the sideline. One would hope it’s not too serious.
I don’t know if Barkley’s MVP candidacy is as viable after this game. Not because he was terrible but because he’s now behind a reasonable pace to surpass Eric Dickerson’s single-season record. Barkley will need 418 yards over the last three weeks to get there. That’s 139 per game. Not impossible … but hardly a given. Also, Josh Allen being on fire and leading the Bills to a win in Detroit is only boosting his stock.
JALEN CARTER
Carter is obviously a fantastic talent but he simply can’t do this:
That penalty almost wiped out a big stop to extend a Steelers drive that could’ve resulted in Pittsburgh making it a one-score game.
COOPER DEJEAN
DeJean seemed to rebound from last week’s defensive struggles. He made a nice tackle for no gain in the red zone. He also had a 23-yard return on a line drive Steelers punt.
DeJean’s fumbled return was bad, though. That mistake allowed the Steelers to take over just 11 yards away from the end zone. He’s fortunate the gaffe only resulted in three points for Pittsburgh.
LANDON DICKERSON
I don’t know how serious Dickerson’s injury is. He was in uniform on the sideline for the second half but didn’t re-enter the game.
Tyler Steen had two holding penalties (only one accepted) in Dickerson’s absence.
MEKHI BECTON
Becton was seen limping off the field late in the game, prompting Jack Driscoll to fill in for him. Certainly not ideal if the Eagles are down two starting guards.
SYDNEY BROWN
Brown suffered a concussion on the opening kickoff. He might be in jeopardy of missing Week 16. Though he’s put forth good effort as a gunner, it’s mostly been a lost season for the No. 66 pick from the 2023 NFL Draft. Brown’s been limited to just 27 defensive snaps, which have mostly come in garbage time. Maybe 2025 will be more of his year.
BRYCE HUFF
Huff is now eligible to return from injured reserve after missing four games. Is he healthy enough to play in Week 16? I don’t know. But even though he was mostly disappointing prior to getting hurt, he’s probably an upgrade over Charles Harris in the edge rotation. We’ll see if the Eagles open Huff’s 21-day practice window this week.
