Philadelphia Eagles bold predictions for Week 15 vs. Steelers

12/12/2024 07:25 AM

In Week 14, the Philadelphia Eagles kept things a bit too close for comfort against the Carolina Panthers.

Now granted, they still won, have kept their win streak alive for the past nine weeks, and even clinched their place in the postseason no matter how the last four weeks of the 2024 NFL season shakes out, but they just came a Xavier Legette drop away from an embarrassing loss to the worst team in the NFC South, even if they’ve been playing well to give the Kansas City Chiefs a similarly close game just a few weeks back.

The cracks started to show; AJ Brown started some drama that Brandon Graham added fuel to that is now burning out of control within the fanbase, and worst of all? The Eagles have their toughest game left on the schedule in a Keystone State showdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who only have one more loss and present a plethora of challenges to Philly’s finest.

Is this the week the streak ends? Does this season turn into 2023 all over again? Or will the Birds rally around a shared goal, with Kellen Moore making it a point to finally add some balance to an offense that has been able to impose their will in the run game at the expense of shots down the field? Well, while some may be in their doom and gloom feelings about the Eagles despite all the evidence to the contrary – a true Philadelphia tradition if you ask me – there are still plenty of reasons for optimism about the game and the rest of the season because of just how great a collection of talent, players, and coaches, Howie Roseman has assembled in 2024.

1. Saquon Barkley does it again for the Eagles in Week 15

In Week 15, the Eagles faced off against one of the worst rushing defenses in the NFL, and their best player, Saquon Barkley, ran the ball 20 times for 124 yards and a 6.2 yards-per-rush average.

In Week 14, the Eagles faced off against one of the best rushing defenses in the NFL, and their best player, Saquon Barkley, ran the ball 23 times for 107 yards and a 4.7 yards-per-rush average

On paper, that’s a relatively big difference, a 1.5 yards per rush difference, to be exact, but it also proves that Barkley can pretty much run for 100 yards against anybody, even if the front seven he’s opposing looks well-equipped to slow him down.

In Week 15, the Eagles find themselves with another potential challenge in the Steelers, who currently rank fourth in rushing yards allowed at 1,190, or almost a thousand yards fewer than the Panthers have allowed. Since the bye, only two teams, the Ravens and the Cleveland Browns, have picked up triple-digit yards on the ground, and over the full season, that number only grows to five, with the New York Giants, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Indianapolis Colts rounding out the quintet.

Goodness, if Bijan Robinson and J.K. Dobbins couldn’t go for over 100 yards against the Steelers defense, can Barkley hope to accomplish the feat? Yes, yes, he can, unless Pittsburgh decides to really sell out to stop the run, and Nick Sirianni opts to take care of business through the air in an effort to appease AJ Brown’s disappointment with the direction of the passing game.

If that happens, great. The Eagles will get to throw the ball against the 17th-ranked passing defense and a secondary that lacks elite talent at the cornerback position. But recall, if you will, that the Los Angeles Rams routinely trotted out a five-man front in an attempt to slow Barkley down and were still gashed for 255 yards by the Pro Bowl back. Considering Barkley’s home run-hitting abilities, all it takes is one mistake for his stat line to double and for six more points to be on the board.

2. Vic Fangio makes Russell Wilson’s offense one-dimensional

When news broke that George Pickens was dealing with a Grade 2 hamstring strain that will almost certainly keep him out of Week 15, it took away one of the top ways quarterback Russell Wilson can attack an opposing defense.

Yes, Pickens is an emotional player who can get himself in trouble with referees for his, shall we say, larger-than-life personality, but he’s also a top-tier wide receiver who has 850 yards and three touchdowns in 12 games of action and was on-pace for 1,000 yards before his hamstring strain. Take him off the field, as was the case in Week 14 against the Cleveland Browns, and suddenly, a Steelers passing offense that surpassed 400 yards in Week 13 was held to just 158 yards through the air in Week 14.

Now granted, the Steelers can move the ball on the ground, with Najee Harris sitting at 877 yards on 223 carries, albeit with a concerning 3.9 yards per carry, Jaylen Warren running for 359 yards on 87 attempts, and Justin Fields always a threat to enter the game as a dual-threat runner. Goodness, even Wilson, a quarterback famous for running around behind the line of scrimmage looking for an open receiver, has 44 yards on the season and can stress a defense in his own way with his legs, too.

But in Week 15, if the Eagles drop down the hammer on the Steelers’ ninth-ranked run game and force the team to win the game through the air, Wilson will be throwing the ball to receivers like Calvin Austin, Van Jefferson, and Mike Williams against a secondary headlined by Darius Slay, Quinyon Mitchell, and Cooper DeJean. If Fangio gets that draw, it’s safe to say his unit should be very happy with the results.

3. Jalen Hurts and AJ Brown leave Week 15 as happy campers

While it’s no secret that AJ Brown was incredibly upset with how Week 14 shook out, and the drama around his “passing” comments has exceeded anyone’s expectations, the solution to his hurt feelings is an easy one that the Eagles actually have pretty significant control over: Get 11 the darn ball.

I know, crazy, right? But after only being targeted four times in Week 14, Brown needs more opportunities to make plays for the Eagles’ offense – as does DeVonta Smith, for that matter – especially with Dallas Goedert out for the foreseeable future on IR. With Barkley drawing so much of the offense’s attention, the onus is on Hurts to make the right reads in the passing game and get things going on rhythm-based routes, which he simply didn’t do against the Panthers.

Discussing the offense’s struggles after the game, Hurts noted that the Eagles need to figure out a way to get back in sync after the ball is snapped, as that’s the key to unlocking the passing offense moving forward.

“You get there by everybody being on the same page and going out there and executing and becoming in sync,” Hurts told reporters. “We see our moments where we play at a high level, and we see our moments where we don't, I think we just have to do what we do, do well.”

Could the Eagles benefit from a bit better planning on the offensive side of the ball? Sure, Moore already said he needs to set the Eagles up better on first and second down, and some more interesting passing concepts would surely do wonders for a very vanilla aerial attack. If the Eagles can just do that while maintaining their typical dominance on the ground, they should be able to secure the win over the Steelers about as easily as they beat their AFC North rivals in Week 13.

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