Tale of The Tape
Key stat | Steelers | Eagles |
PPG Offence | 22.9 (14/32) | 26.3 (8/32) |
PPG Defence | 16.9 (3/32) | 18 (2/32) |
Passing YPG offence | 206 (23/32) | 180.6 (31/32) |
Passing YPG Defence | 218.6 (17/32) | 178.5 (2/32) |
Rushing YPG Offence | 132.1 (9/32) | 190.5 (1/32) |
Rushing YPG defence | 91.5(4/32) | 105.8 (8/32) |
Keys to victory
1. Limit Saquon
Since Saquon Barkley signed with the Eagles this offseason - he has been one of the hottest players in the league and is a deserving candidate for MVP. He has amassed over 1900 scrimmage yards and 13 touchdowns, furthermore he has been tackled 11 times at the 1 yard line, and 10 of these times Jalen Hurts ended up with the TD. It’s absolutely mind boggling to think the stats he could have had were this not the case and he is where the focus should be for the Steelers this week.
Despite Saquon being one of the best backs in the league - he has only faced 8+ men in the box at the 15th highest rate in the league. There have been 5 games where Saquon has faced 8+ men in the box at a rate of 30% or more, if you take away any 19+ yard rushes in these games then his YPA plummets from 6.1 to 3.7 - which would make him 37th in the league for YPA. Keeping the defence as fresh as possible will be a key part of this - as Barkley has the most second half rushing yards per game in the league - he wears down defences, and rushing vs tired defenses is when many of his long rushes boost his YPA in games he has been quiet in early.
2. Force Jalen Hurts into a dropback passing game
In the first 4 weeks of the season Hurts averaged 34 pass attempts a game resulting in a 2-2 record. In the 9 games since he has averaged 21 pass attempts and the Eagles have been undefeated. When Philly are in obvious passing situations they look quite poor: on 3rd or 4th down they only convert 32% of the time. Despite the Eagles having some playmakers at pass catcher and Hurts being a fine quarterback, make no mistake about it this is the lesser of two evils.
3. Use your time wisely Russ
The Eagles have what many would say is the best defence in the league right now, in recent weeks they have really found their form as they have grown accustomed to Vic Fangio's deep shell system. As you can see from the ‘tale of the tape’ statistically they are fantastic across the board, but what makes this even more impressive is that they hurry QB’s at the lowest percentage in the league. This doesn’t always go well for Russ though as he has a habit of inviting unnecessary pressure with his trademark style of play.
George Pickens being doubtful (at time of writing) is a massive blow for the offence, and consequently Russ using this extra time in the pocket effectively. One matchup the Steelers should look to hunt is a receiver, preferably Calvin Austin, against CJ Gardner Johnson the Eagles safety, who has given up the 10th highest yards per completion this year at 17.6 YPC so this could definitely be something to look for.
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