December 15, 2024
Colleen Claggett/for PhillyVoice
DeVonta Smith #6 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown during a NFL football game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on December 15, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
A week of drama has been left in the rear view mirror for the Eagles, as the Birds took down Mike Tomlin's Steelers in a battle for Pennsylvania supremacy by a score of 27-13. The Eagles now move to 12-2, the same record as the No. 1 seed Lions. 10 straight wins after an infuriating 2-2 start has given way to the path to the Super Bowl in the NFC running through South Philadelphia.
Here are some choice observations and thoughts about the Eagles following their win over Pittsburgh...
• The Eagles' passing game has yet to reclaim its glorious 2022 form. That didn't quite happen on Sunday, but things are certainly moving in the right direction through the air. The Eagles have dug themselves in a hole with slow starts this season, but they put up 10 first quarter points against the Steelers. That included a touchdown pitch and catch from Jalen Hurts to A.J. Brown. If you force feed Brown the ball, good things happen. Shocking! Hurts had more passing yards after the team's third scoring drive (146) with 9:07 on the clock in the first half than he had each of the last two weeks (118 and 108, respectively).
F is for friends who do stuff together.
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) December 15, 2024
U is for U and Me.
N is for anywhere and anytime at all.@jalenhurts | @1kalwaysopen_ | #ProBowlVote pic.twitter.com/0eBWoVCrdH
Hurts finished with 290 yards through the air, his most passing yards since Week 3. He hadn't had a game where he's thrown for at least 290 yards and multiple touchdown passes since the Eagles' Week 8 win over Washington last season.
• DeVonta Smith was targeted 12 times, the most he's been targeted in the regular season since 2022 Week 16. He finished with 109 yards and a TD.
This is what the Eagles' passing attack can look like when it's feeding its two star wideouts. They were cooking!
It's Smitty's turn 🕺@DeVontaSmith_6 | #ProBowlVote pic.twitter.com/AhyiOWtCHA
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) December 15, 2024
• Saquon Barkley missed part of the game due to injury. Barkley finished with "only" 65 rushing yards on the day, putting him at 1,688 for the year. That leaves him 417 yards short of Eric Dickerson's 1984 record of 2,105 rushing yards. Barkley would need to average 139.4 yards per game over the season's remaining games to break Dickerson's record. That's a tough task, but still feasible.
I've had enough of 12 personnel with Dallas Goedert still sidelined. Grant Calcaterra has valiantly filled in for the big-name tight end, but is having C.J. Uzomah and E.J. Jenkins out there in the slot doing anything? Two-tight end sets with Goedert and Calcaterra? Sure, that's an okay setup. The Eagles have long had a history of not utilizing their third wideout in the Brown-Smith era, so Jahan Dotson is never going to get a sizable target share, but it just feels antiquated when the pure talent isn't there.
• Kenny Gainwell really had some juice. His role has never been smaller during his pro career with Saquon Barkley's historic explosion for the Birds this season, but against Pittsburgh, he made guys miss, had a couple of clutch first downs and was a key cog. Gainwell finished with 60 yards from scrimmage, his most since Week 7 against the Giants. How about a little more 21 personnel with two backs to cancel out the 12 personnel usage some?
• If Landon Dickerson misses time, as the Pro Bowl left guard exited Sunday's game with a knee injury, what's the Eagles' confidence level in his replacement in Tyler Steen? He had a couple of early penalties upon subbing in for Dickerson, but looked pretty good from what I saw in the run game. Steen "lost" the right guard job over the summer to Mekhi Becton. The Eagles did invest a Day 2 pick in Steen last year though. A full week of first-team preparation at Stoutland University, if needed, would be big for him.
• The Eagles nearly doubled up on the Steelers in the time of possession battle. The Birds had the ball for 39:52 while Pittsburgh had it for 20:08. Things have come along way since the Chip Kelly era.
• Nolan Smith had himself a day. He continuously made good use of speed rushes, showcasing the athleticism that made him a first-round draft pick in 2023. Smith had a sack for an 11-yard loss that negated any shot of a Pittsburgh TD before the half, forcing them to settle for a field goal. Huge swing! That makes 5.5 sacks through 14 games for Smith. He doesn't resemble the player he was as a rookie at all.
ROLL THE DICE, NOLAN 🎲@SmithNoland2 | #ProBowlVote pic.twitter.com/aKj8C6PZS2
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) December 15, 2024
• Russell Wilson had a couple of nice plays with his legs. He had a great pass to Pat Freiermuth for a TD late in the first half. After nearly a decade of him working his magic with the Seahawks and completely owning the Eagles though, going 5-0 against them in the regular season and beating them in the playoffs once, he looked a bit more mortal. He's older and not the same player he once was, sure, but it's still a strange sight to not see Wilson constantly evading Eagles pass-rushers and making something out of nothing.
• Who's doing it better than Zack Baun right now? He's played his way into a First-Team All-Pro nod on the league's best defense.
• Pittsburgh was down their best skill position player in George Pickens, but a 10-win team managing just 163 yards of offense is disgusting. Credit to Vic Fangio and the defense for bringing it. It's the third time the Birds' defense has allowed fewer than 200 yards of offense this season.
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