Brian Westbrook left this game in the first quarter and Donovan McNabb was sacked three times and even went to the locker room to be examined. The Eagles obviously lost…right? Sorry Steelers fans. Pittsburgh got dominated in this contest reminiscent of college football's inter-state rivalry games.
The quarterbacks on both teams were under constant pressure in this one, but Philadelphia managed to turn that pressure into nine sacks of Ben Roethlisberger. That’s right, nine. Five of those sacks came on six consecutive Pittsburgh passing plays in the second quarter. It left Ben aching for most of the game as another hit in the fourth quarter caused him to leave the field to examine a right hand injury. Donovan McNabb, on the other hand, was only sacked 3 times, and at one point in the first half had completed 15 for 15 pass attempts. He wasn’t out for Philly at the start of the second half, so Kevin Kolb took two series under center. Donovan soon returned and kept his Eagles in the driver’s seat against one of the AFC’s best.
The real silver lining in this tough win for the Eagles was their ability to maintain the running game while Brian Westbrook wasn’t on the field. Corell Buckhalter did his best Westbrook imitation on a short pass out of the backfield in the first half and leapt his way into the end zone for the game’s only touchdown. Hopefully with Westbrook only day-to-day, Philadelphia won’t have to rush him back if Buckhalter can come close to his pre-surgeries form. The Eagle defense laid it on the Steelers, shutting down the run and putting the quarterback on the ground. Asante Samuel had a fantastic downfield interception in the midst of the Roethlisberger sack-fest. Proving they are a force to be reckoned with, the Eagles defense will keep them in games, even when the offense falters.
Pittsburgh should be very concerned with Roethlisberger’s showing Sunday afternoon. He often has issues with getting rid of the ball, usually taking big hits or unnecessary sacks. He won’t stay on the field for 16 games this year if he can’t make good decisions with the football. The best quarterbacks in this league (Manning and Brady, specifically) throw the ball away and avoid losing precious field position. Ben’s Steelers are more run-oriented than the Colts or Patriots, so taking sacks puts his team in more difficult circumstances. He dropped back too many times and the Pittsburgh offense never really established the run. Not all was lost however, as the Steelers defense showed up with Troy Polamalu making a tremendous one-armed interception of Kevin Kolb’s first throw after entering for the injured McNabb. The Steelers maintained a healthy pass rush, knocking McNabb around and holding a high-powered offense to only fifteen points.
Neither offense played their best, so both sides have room for improvement. However, it did showcase each defense’s ability to keep it close going into the fourth quarter, and when you have one of those two QB’s, that’s all you need.
