The Eagles took the ball first, and it seemed like they had possession for most of the first half. Devon Bush was burned early on a corner route from a TE and Jalen Hurts delivered a great touch pass for 34 yards. Quez Watkins got behind Cameron Sutton on the outside for what would have been a 98-yard TD, had he been able to run underneath Hurts’s pass.
Mason Rudolph was the first QB in for the Steelers. Juju made a tough grab working against triple coverage on the opening drive. Najee had a run of 6 yards after running through contact 3 yards behind the LOS and on the very next play slipped into the flat and caught a first down pass. Pat Freiermuth saw his first action of his pro career, recording a holding penalty on his first snap which wiped out a would-be first down run from Harris.
Mason clocked out completing 8 of 9 attempts. His one incompletion sailed over Harris’s head trying to check down on a third and 11. His long was a 33 yard toss to Johnson down the sideline. He took one sack, but it was a particularly bad rep in pass pro. Kendrick Green was skated backwards with a strong bull rush, Joe Haeg was beat with an inside rip move, and Trai Turner was slow to help both.
Our old friend Joe Flacco led the Eagles onto the field for the next drive. Watkins took a screen pass from Flacco for 79 yards to the house. An uncalled holding penalty on Jalen Reagor should have brought the ball back to the original LOS, but it’s preseason for the referees, too.
Another interesting chapter in the camp punting battle: Jordan Berry’s first attempt pinned the Eagles on the own 2 yard line. His next punt hit at the 4 and was downed at the 6 yard line. For the night he had 4 punts for 176 yards (44.0 average) including a 54 yarder.
Dwayne Haskins’s first drive was a three-and-out. He showed a nice escape from a heavy pass rush on third down, but overthrew a very open receiver for what would have been a first down. On the next drive he connected with Freiermuth for the TE’s first NFL catch, a 6-yard connection over the middle. Cody White caught two consecutive passes setting Pittsburgh up at the Eagles’ 6, and McFarland had a great second effort to cut back across the formation on a broken play and sneak into the end zone off the weak side.
Joe Flacco came back out with 1:45 in the half from their own 13 after a holding penalty on the kickoff. The first three plays were all passes for first downs; UG3 was beat in coverage by a TE on the first and missed tackling a check down on the third play. Spillane was also victimized trying to cover a TE on a corner route. Eagles kicker Jake Elliott was 3-3 on FG’s in the first half, from 47, 47 and 50. HALFTIME SCORE: 16-7 Philadelphia.
Haskins appeared to be leading an energetic unit coming out in the second half. As efficient as Rudolph was in his outing, Haskins was not to be outdone and started 11-12. The 12th pass was a free play during which Haskins scrambled but kept his eyes downfield and found Anthony Johnson all alone in the end zone for a TD.
Two plays later, a Justin Layne pick gave the Steelers the ball back (pressure from Jamir Jones forced a bad throw). Haskins went 3-4 on the drive and Samuels had 3 consecutive successful runs, before plunging into the end zone from the 1.
Presley Harvin handled the holding duties during the second half, so he presumably would have also handled the punting, had the team needed a punter in the second half.
Haskins played through the third quarter and into the fourth before Josh Dobbs relieved him. Apparently the word of the day on the calendar in the QB room was “efficiency.” Josh Dobbs also only threw one incompletion on the night; unfortunately, that incompletion was caught by an Eagles defender.
Lafayette Pitts took the ball right back with another interception of Nick Mullens three plays later. The Steelers regained possession with 6:14 on the clock, and never gave it back. Petey Guerrero and Tony Brooks-James had a couple of chunk runs, and the team assumed victory formation for Dobbs to put the icing on the evening. FINAL SCORE: 24-16 Pittsburgh.
My favorite stat of the night: the Steelers held the Eagles to 0-8 on third down conversions. I know, it’s just preseason, but pitching a shutout on third down is what separates good defenses from elite defenses. On the other side of the ball, the Steelers converted 11 of 17 third down attempts, despite their first third down conversion coming with 4:30 left in the first half (Haskins threw for it on 3rd and 1). They also converted three third downs on each of their TD drives to start the 2nd half.
Strange but true: the Steelers won the TOP battle 41:15 to 18:45. They had the ball for more than twice as long as the Eagles. Say it with me: BALL CONTROL.
Steely Cam 