EAGLES 101

On Sunday afternoon the Philadelphia Eagles will look for their fourth win of the season while the Steelers will be looking to improve to 2-2 on the season. The Steelers are coming off of a bye week and they should get key players in Rashard Mendenhall, Troy Polamalu, and James Harrison back from injury. The Eagles had a hard-fought victory last Sunday night against the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants. As it was the case against the Giants last week, there are an infinite number of scenarios that could affect the outcome of this game, and none would be surprising to see happen. Here are the keys to the game for the Eagles.

1. Don't bite on the play action passes

Philadelphia had some trouble in the secondary whenever Eli Manning faked to his running back on a passing play. This season Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is passing at 75% accuracy on play action plays. The Steelers run game has not been good this season, and it is important to keep this in mind when Roethlisberger appears to hand off the ball.

2. Contain the blitz

Pittsburgh will play a 3-4 defensive scheme with a lot of zone blitzes. When you're going against a scheme like that there is one important thing to remember: run the ball. Pittsburgh is giving up almost four and a half yards per carry this season, and with LeSean McCoy in the Eagles backfield, they should have success running the football to beat the blitz. If Vick is able to read the blitz well throughout the game, short passes over the middle should be available for him as well.

3.  Limit the turnovers

It is a weak "key to the game" and one that is probably on every teams' list each week. It is no secret that if you limit your turnovers, you can win any game in the NFL. The Eagles won last week because they did not have any turnovers in the game. Vick will need to be smart when throwing the ball against a team that has just forced three turnovers in three games this season.

4. Stop Roethlisberger

Roethlisberger has turned into a quiet, effective quarterback in the NFL. Pittsburgh historically uses its defense and run game to win football games, but they are now able to win through the air was well. Roethlisberger is a guy that is tough to bring down and when you add in his arm and scrambling ability, it is tough to limit his success throughout the game. The secondary cannot be caught flat footed throughout the game and the pass rush must get to Roethlisberger quick if they want him to have a tough day. 

Final prediction: All signs point to an Eagles loss in this game. Mendenhall is back, the Steelers are coming off of a bye week, and the Eagles gave everything they had to the Giants last week in a last second victory. However, Pittsburgh hasn't proved much this season and their defense isn't getting any younger. Eagles win 23-17. 

Tags: Football, NFL, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Eagles

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