Pittsburgh Steelers Wrap-up – Eagles Fly High

The 2024 battle for Pennsylvania goes to the Philadelphia Eagles after they dismantled the Pittsburgh Steelers in week 15 of the NFL season by a score of 27-13. For members of Steelers Nation, it is certainly a time for concern, especially with what lies ahead.

For the second straight week, Russell Wilson has had a subpar game, and, in both contests, he was without George Pickens. It’s a hard pill to swallow thinking without Pickens on the field, Wilson can’t put forth good numbers and the running game essentially disappears. That is my concern. With the Indianapolis Colts and Miami Dolphins losing on the same day, it pushed the Steelers into the playoffs. But if Pittsburgh’s offense performs as they did the last two weeks in the postseason, we may be looking at yet another one and done year.

What we saw in Philadelphia was a story line from the last several years. The Steelers are relying on the defense to win them a game. We must keep in mind that we were playing the 11-2 Eagles, winners of nine straight games, a team with the best overall defense in the league. Still, Pittsburgh this season has been accustomed to winning the time of possession battle and in Philly, the defense spent most of the day on the field while the offense sputtered miserably. 

The Eagles’ offense was on the field for 39:52 of the game while Pittsburgh only used up 20:08 of the clock. The first down totals were downright ugly. Philadelphia 26 and the Steelers managed only 10. That’s pathetic. Pittsburgh had just 41 offensive plays to the Eagles 77. Then there is total yardage. Philadelphia ran over and passed around on what is typically a staunch defense to the tune of 401 yards.

On the other hand, Pittsburgh could only muster 163 yards of total offense. That is downright embarrassing. Russell Wilson threw the ball 22 times and completed 14 but for just 128 yards. The longest reception was to Calvin Austin on a flea flicker that went for 31 yards and Austin had to make a spectacular catch. There were only three more passing plays for over 10 yards, and all were less than 20. The Eagles had three passes completed for over 20 and another for 16. 

On the ground, Sequon Barkley was held in check…to a degree. He ran for only 65 yards but had a 22-yard romp and Jalen Hurts added a run of his own for 23. Pittsburgh’s running game was a joke totaling just 56 yards combined, which was less than Barkley did on his own. The longest run was for eight yards by Russell Wilson and the other by his back up Justin Fields. Again…embarrassing.

The only bright spot in this game for Pittsburgh was Chris Boswell. You could arguably call him the best placekicker in the NFL right now. With another two field goals, he broke his own team record for the most three pointers in a season and points scored. While Najee Harris had a difficult day at the office, a week prior facing Cleveland he only rushed for 53 yards and Russell Wilson passed for just 158 yards.

That’s just 286 yards in two games for Wilson, both games without George Pickens. Aaron Rodgers with a win over the Jaguars on the same day passed for 289 yards…in one game.

The last time Pickens was on the field was the Steelers victory over Cincinnati several weeks ago and Russell Wilson threw for 414 yards. Can one player really make that much of a difference in a quarterback’s performance? It seems so with Russ. That is a reason for concern. In that Bengals game Harris rushed for just 75 yards. Going backwards, in the loss to the Browns, Harris’s final numbers were 41 yards on 16 carries. By beating Baltimore, Najee Harris contributed only 63 yards on the ground. 

There are some thoughts out there that perhaps Mike Tomlin should go back to Justin Fields. With the Baltimore Ravens on the schedule this coming weekend, if Pickens can’t go again, the running game will be key and the way Wilson is throwing the ball right now, a more athletic and dangerous Fields might be the answer to get the offense back on track.

For a few games it seemed Mike Tomlin made the right decision to switch to Russell Wilson as a starter, but the NFL can change on a dime and with one loss things can change dramatically. There is reason to be concerned about Pittsburgh’s offense which is in dire need of a spark. Looking back at the Bengals game, Pittsburgh put up a lot of points because Cincinnati’s defense is horrible. As we head towards the playoffs, the Steelers MUST have some offensive firepower to get over the snide of not being able to win a playoff game. 

Will it matter anyway? Right now, the scariest team in the league is the Buffalo Bills. Alread with a victory over the defending NFL champion Chiefs, Buffalo scored boatloads of points on the tough Detroit Lions and right now Josh Allen is playing on another level and is giving the impression that he is having one of those “special” seasons. The Bills have been to the Super Bowl four times, all of which were in succession, and they lost every one of those games. This might finally be their year. 

Right now, the way the Steelers are playing offensively, they do not stack up against the Chiefs, Bills, and only because they have Baltimore’s number, they just might beat them for a second time this weekend. But if they end up playing the Ravens on the road in the post season with everything on the line and loser goes home, their chance of winning again might diminish. 

After the Eagles game I had a sinking feeling in my gut about how Pittsburgh played. It certainly wasn’t promising and come December 22 when the Ravens and Steelers kick it off, if Russell Wilson continues to play poorly, Mike Tomlin may have to make the difficult decision to bench his current starter and put Justin Fields in the lineup. I’m also beginning to think that for 2025, it might make sense to re-sign Fields and let Wilson take a walk. I believe if Russ goes, he will have a tough time finding another starting job. He and Aaron Rodgers are at the end of their careers and certainly not having career years. 

There should be several interesting developments this week and the early bird is saying George Pickens may sit again. The Steelers are one game up on Baltimore in the AFC North and a loss to the Ravens would tie the two teams but because of the conference records I believe the Steelers would have the tie breaker. Following this game the Ravens play Houston on the road which would only be a seeding issue for the Texans who have now clinched the AFC South and then Baltimore hosts the Browns at home. 



The Ravens will either win both those games and at worst possibly lose to Houston. Pittsburgh? Ouch. Baltimore and then Kansas City at home, with a season ending rematch against the Bengals who will have nothing to play for. Let’s be thankful for our record of 10-4 and already in the playoffs because if it was like prior years with a poorer record, we would be right back in the same boat trying to win and watching the scoreboard.