Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles to face a true test in week three against Pittsburgh

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Eagles are off to a great start, but their most difficult challenge yet comes in Week 3.

The Philadelphia Eagles are off to the best start imaginable in the 2016 season. The team is 2-0 and has played well in each of their first two games. Despite this great start, things will get a lot tougher when the Pittsburgh Steelers come to Philly on Sunday afternoon.

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The Steelers are legitimate contenders in the AFC , as long as they can stay healthy. They already lay claim to a pair of impressive wins themselves. The most important question that should be on everyone’s mind is how are the Eagles going to stop Antonio Brown? The superstar wide receiver is going to cause some serious problems for the Eagles secondary. While the Eagles defense has played well overall, they’ve allowed some deep plays in the first two weeks. Monday could have had a completely different result

Yes, Jay Cutler got injured, but even before that, they seemed to forget about Alshon Jeffery on offense. Jeffery absolutely toasted rookie corner Jalen Mills on an early play. It was embarrassing to say the least. Mills rebounded pretty well after that, uh, miscue, but he didn’t shut down Jeffery by any means. In fact, nobody in the Eagles secondary did. The Bears were actually the ones who shut him down.

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So what’s the point you ask? The point is that the Steelers are a very competent team. They’re lethal on offense and are led by one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, Ben Roethlisberger. “Big Ben” is known for extending and creating big plays with his mobility. He’s a very hard man to bring down. The secondary has to step up this week in order to give the Eagles a chance at an upset. The defense of the Eagles is great at rushing the quarterback and forcing turnovers, which is what they should be expected to do on Sunday.

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While Roethlisberger is a tremendous QB, he does tend to turn the ball over at a higher rate than some people realize. He’s already thrown six touchdowns through two weeks this season. He’s also fumbled twice and lost one of those. Six touchdowns and four turnovers isn’t exactly ideal when you are facing an attacking defense like the Eagles have.

What about Philadelphia on offense? They just need to keep doing what they are doing. Head coach Doug Pederson has been phenomenal through his first two weeks. Rookie quarterback sensation Carson Wentz has played just about as well as anyone could have imagined. The main area of concern for the Eagles against the Steelers is along the offensive line. As a unit, they have struggled to open up running lanes and have had numerous break downs in pass protection. Center Jason Kelce has, perhaps, been the most disappointing player on the team thus far. The necessary leverage and power just isn’t there.

Not only do the Steelers have a good defensive line, they have the potential to be a matchup nightmare. Rookie nose tackle Javon Hargrave has been a beast the first two weeks of his NFL career. He causes disruption and is a bully along the interior of the defensive line. He’s also displayed great hustle. The Eagles will need to get Kelce help if they want to contain Hargrave.

Eagles fans, go ahead and enjoy the win over the Bears. You deserve it. Just know that the Eagles may be in for a reality check some Sunday.