3 things you must know about the Steelers Week 5 match up vs the Eagles

After an unexpected bye week, the Pittsburgh Steelers are set to face off against their interstate rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 5.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are coming fresh off of a bye week, still undefeated, against a Philadelphia squad that just earned their first win of 2020 against the reigning NFC champion 49ers. The rivalry between these two squads isn’t as intense as one would think. However, the Eagles are looking to bring themselves to .500 on the season in Week 5 and they have the ability to do it.

Understanding that rust can play a factor in this matchup is important. Ben Roethlisberger was still working on getting himself back in the groove of things, even while playing pretty good football through his first 3 games. I do expect things to start off a little rocky as a result. Especially, with an Eagles team that has to be feeling more confident after beating a San Francisco squad that played incredibly well against the NFL in 2019.

The Steelers will also be playing against their biggest free-agency loss of the 2020 offseason in Javon Hargrave. While Hargrave isn’t a starter, the fact he is being used in a rotational capacity in a stellar defensive line on a 4-3 defense could be cause for concern. He played really well last year and it has to show the level of play that both Fletcher Cox and Malik Jackson have been able to maintain throughout the 2020 preseason and the start of the 2020 season up to this point.

There are some other important things to know about this matchup. Considering Carson Wentz is the best starting QB they have had since Donovan McNabb, and they have a very talented Miles Sanders in the backfield, this is an offense that can get it going. The Steelers defense has to be ready against an explosive, albeit inconsistent, offense from their NFC counterparts.