The Pittsburgh Steelers needed to escape Week 8 with a win, but they simply couldn’t match the talent of the Philadelphia Eagles in this critical matchup.
We knew that the Pittsburgh Steelers were heavy, two-score underdogs heading into their Week 8 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles, but the results of the contest could not have been much worse for Mike Tomlin and company. On the Still Curtain Podcast, I predicted the Steelers would lose 27-16. That prediction proved to be far too generous.
From the gate, Pittsburgh’s defense was remarkably underwhelming as they gave up one big play after another. It started with a huge reception by A.J. Brown between Minkah Fitzpatrick and Terrell Edmunds for a touchdown. From there, Brown embarrassed Ahkello Witherspoon twice on deep touchdowns. This led to Witherspoon being benched before halftime in favor of CB James Pierre.
When they entered the tunnel at halftime, the game was technically still within reach, as the Steelers trailed 21-10. However, things quickly got out of hand when the Eagles marched down the field immediately on their opening possession of the third quarter which was capped off by a Miles Sanders touchdown run.
Eventually, the Eagles put their backups in late in the fourth quarter as they cruised to a blowout victory with a final score of 35-13. The Steelers now sit on a 2-6 record entering the bye week, and it’s hard to know where they should even go from here.
Steelers are just a bad football team
I don’t know how else to slice it at this point; the Pittsburgh Steelers are just a bad football team. Both sides of the ball struggled mightily against the Eagles in Week 8 as their defense surrendered 6.0 yards per carry and a 140.0 passer rating to Philadelphia while their offense mustered up just 13 points. Kenny Pickett’s struggles are real, and the team really needs to start seeing him make strides very soon. He managed just 5.0 yards per attempt and threw an interception.
As good as T.J. Watt is, his presence certainly wouldn’t have changed the outcome of the game. At this point, the Steelers need to consider selling the house with less than two days before the trade deadline.
Though they aren’t eliminated from playoff contention yet, it’s incredibly unwise to think that this lackluster offense can do enough to scratch and claw their way back into the hunt. Honestly, the best thing the team can do at this point is to make proactive moves to start rebuilding for their future.
Matt Canada needs to go, and this team is desperate for talent on both sides of the ball. Pittsburgh needs to make sizable changes to its coaching staff and start stockpiling draft capital in a true rebuild. If they don’t do that, they will be in the exact same boat next year. This team is just plain bad.