Joe Greene's frustration near the end of his first game in Philadelphia is a good representation of the Steelers' success, or lack thereof, in the City of Brotherly Love for nearly 60 years. Greene, who was in the first month of his rookie season, threw the game ball into the stands after the Eagles had made the game-clinching first down in an eventual win over the Steelers.
Things eventually got better for Greene and the Steelers, who won just won game during that 1969 season. Greene became a Hall of Fame player while helping the Steelers win four Super Bowls during the 1970s. But he never did win a game in Philadelphia, which has successfully defended its home turf each time the Steelers have come to town since 1965.
Pittsburgh's 20-14 win over Philadelphia on October 24, 1965 remains the Steelers' last win on the other side of the state. The Steelers are winless in their last nine trips to Philadelphia entering Sunday's matchup from Lincoln Financial Field.
Steelers games in Philadelphia since 1965
December 4, 1966 | Eagles 27, Steelers 23 |
October 1, 1967 | Eagles 34, Steelers 24 |
September 28, 1969 | Eagles 41, Steelers 27 |
December 20, 1970 | Eagles 30, Steelers 20 |
September 30, 1979 | Eagles 17, Steelers 14 |
September 22, 1991 | Eagles 23, Steelers 14 |
November 23, 1997 | Eagles 23, Steelers 20 |
September 21, 2008 | Eagles 15, Steelers 6 |
September 25, 2016 | Eagles 34, Steelers 3 |
As you can see, a lack of scoring has been one of the main reasons for the Steelers' lack of success in Philadelphia. The Eagles' pass rush sacked Ben Roethlisberger a whopping eight times in their 2008 matchup, which caused Roethlisberger to briefly ponder retirement.
Roethlisberger didn't take quite as big a beating in 2016, but the Steelers did. Led by then-rookie quarterback Carson Wentz, the Eagles whiplashed a Steelers team that would later get to within a game of the Super Bowl.
The last time Philadelphia faced off against the Steelers was 2016.
— Sports Are Philly (@SportsArePhilly) October 6, 2020
Rookie QB Carson Wentz led the Eagles to a 34-3 win #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/4ugyP1uQk4
Sunday has the makings of another lopsided outcome in Philadelphia's favor. The undefeated Eagles, who are coming off their bye week, are 11-point favorites over the Steelers, who fell to 2-5 following their Week 7 loss to the Dolphins. Nick Sirianni's team is currently fourth in the NFL in both scoring offense and defense. The Eagles' offense has been led by third-year quarterback Jalen Hurts, whose play has put him in the early conversation for league MVP.
The Steelers are also starting a young quarterback in rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett, who grew up an Eagles fan and whose favorite player as a kid was former Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb. Pickett will need a McNabb-like effort Sunday if the Steelers are going to pull off one of the NFL's biggest upset to this point in the season.
"He's a competitor," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said of his quarterback earlier this week, via Jim Wexell of Steel City Insider. "He's got a thirst for it. It's been fun being in those circumstances. Obviously, we want the outcomes to be different. But to communicate with him professionally and to watch him operate, to watch his demeanor, to watch his approach to those circumstances, it's exciting and refreshing."
