Steelers in need of a Phila-buster
The last time Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger went to Philadelphia for a regular-season game, he was sacked nine times in a 15-6 loss during the 2009 season.
Defensive tackle Destiny Vaeao and the Eagles defense harrassed Bears quarterback Jay Cutler during a win Monday night.
PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia Eagles have had three different stadiums and 14 different coaches since they last lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers at home in a regular-season game.
The year was 1965 and the Steelers were on their way to a 2-12 season. But one of those two wins came Oct. 24 at Philadelphia’s Franklin Field as Pittsburgh handed the Eagles a 20-14 defeat in head coach Mike Nixon’s lone season with the team.
Eight times since, the Steelers traveled across the state to play the Eagles. And eight times, the Steelers went home without a win.
“I saw that,” said Steelers receiver Antonio Brown. “That’s a long time.”
A long time, indeed. It’s the Steelers’ longest such streak against any team.
Pittsburgh will try to end that today when it plays at Lincoln Financial Field in a meeting of 2-0 teams.
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger played in Philadelphia just one time in his 13-year-career but it was a game he’d like to forget. In 2008, the Eagles recorded nine sacks, including eight of Roethlisberger, in a 15-6 win over the Steelers, limiting Pittsburgh to 147 yards.
“A lot of sacks, painful, but it was a long time ago,” Roethlisberger said.
The Steelers want to make things equally tough today on Philadelphia rookie quarterback Carson Wentz.
The second-overall pick in this year’s draft, Wentz completed nearly 61 percent of his passes for 468 yards and three touchdowns in his first two NFL games. More important, he has no turnovers, something that has impressed the Steelers.
“I don’t think (the game) is too big for him. He showed that in the last two games,” said Steelers defensive coordinator Keith Butler. “He’s done some good things. He’s made correct reads sometimes, and sometimes he hasn’t. But for the most part, he has. He’s going to be a good foe for us.”
The Steelers rank 31st in the league in pass defense, but that’s mostly because opponents have found little running room. Pittsburgh is giving up just more than 50 yards per game on the ground and 3.4 yards per carry.
The Eagles, much like the Steelers did early in Roethlisberger’s career, lean heavily on their rushing attack to keep Wentz from having to do too much. That doesn’t mean first-year head coach Doug Pederson is afraid to let the rookie go to the air.
“If the time comes when I need him to win a football game, I’m going to lean on him to win it,” said Pederson. “At the same time, I think you can play good defense, (show) the ability to run the ball, flip field position, (and that) can be a good formula for success, particularly with a young quarterback.”
Because they know the Eagles want to do that to protect Wentz, the Steelers want to do something they haven’t done well in their first two games – start fast offensively. The Steelers have been outscored 9-7 in first quarters.
If the Steelers can start fast, then they can put pressure on Wentz. He has yet to trail this season.
“We want to see if we can get them behind and make him make some plays,” said Steelers cornerback William Gay. “He’s played well. He’s making all the throws. But we want to make him play from behind.”
Pittsburgh’s offense should get a boost from the return of starting wide receiver Markus Wheaton, who missed the first two games with a shoulder injury. Running back Le’Veon Bell will be eligible to return after being suspended for the first three weeks.
“We get Markus Wheaton in there and it’s going to present challenges from the inside or outside,” said Brown, who was limited to an uncharacteristic four catches for 39 yards in a rain-soaked win over Cincinnati last week.
“It’s one more guy to wreck havoc. It will be even more exciting to get Le’Veon Bell back in another week. We’ve got the makings of something special.”
Something truly special would be ending a 50-year losing streak.
Roethlisberger leads the NFL with six touchdown passes and has three TD passes in three consecutive games, matching Terry Bradshaw (1982) for the longest such streak in team history. … Wentz is the first rookie QB since 1970 to win his first two starts of a season without throwing an interception. … The Eagles have punted five times in two games with only one of those kicks being returned. It was returned 65 yards for a touchdown. … The Steelers have beaten rookie quarterbacks in 19 of 21 games since 2004.