Dec 15, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson (3) throws the ball against the Philadelphia Eagles during the first quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers fell to the Philadelphia Eagles 27-13. The loss is the first of Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson’s career. The Steelers have yet to travel to Philadelphia and leave with a win in the Super Bowl era.
Wilson passed for 128 yards and a touchdown on 63.6 completion percentage. Wide receiver Calvin Austin III caught five passes for 65 yards. Tight end Pat Freiermuth recorded three receptions for 22 yards and a touchdown. Linebacker T.J. Watt forced a fumble, recorded seven tackles including one for loss, and earned two sacks.
The unofficial state championship started poorly for the Western PA representatives. The Steelers started the game on offense. A third-and-seven deep shot to wide receiver Van Jefferson was a little long, forcing the Steelers to punt without a first down. After the Eagles flew into field goal range behind four straight passes for 53 yards from quarterback Jalen Hurts, the Steelers were held to another three-and-out, trailing 3-0.
Without their top-flight receiver George Pickens, the Steelers’ defense had to carry more load. The Eagles’ second drive started much like the first with several easy gains. But Hurts tried to break one too many tackles, and the front-runner for Defensive Player of the Year Watt forced his sixth fumble of the season with an easy punchout. But the offense could not reward Watt for his effort. Wilson was sacked on second-and-ten for an eleven-yard loss and had to punt again.
It was the Steelers’ special teams’ turn to make a play. A perfectly placed Steeler helmet on the football forced a fumble on the punt return that Nick Herbig recovered—two turnovers for the Steelers in less than a quarter. Harris got the Steelers four yards from the endzone, but a brawl broke out behind the endzone that resulted in only the Steelers earning any penalties despite Eagles safety Darius Slay throwing several punches. Two incompletions later, the Steelers sent placekicker Chris Boswell out to attempt a franchise-record-setting 37-yard field goal tying the game 3-3.
Eagles star wide receiver A.J. Brown had some criticisms for the passing offense after a win against the Panthers last week. Voicing his frustrations must have worked as Brown caught four passes for 48 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter. The Steelers offense gained only two yards in the first quarter. After Boswell’s field goal, Hurts repeatedly targeted Brown, handed the ball to his MVP candidate running back Saquon Barkley, and ran the ball himself to get into the Steelers’ redzone. From five yards out, Hurts faked a handoff to Barkley and then passed to Brown for a touchdown. Eagles led 10-3.
An illegal shift penalty and a holding penalty killed any hopes of the Steelers getting their first new set of downs to answer the Eagles’ touchdown. Making matters worse, cornerback Cooper DeJean atoned for his previous fumble with a big gain on the punt return. Hurts threw his first incompletion on a fade route to Brown broken up by Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. A few plays later, Hurts found wide receiver DeVonta Smith coming off a rub-route for a two-yard touchdown. 17-3 Eagles.
The offensive dam was due to break for the Steelers. Wilson doubled his offensive production with a 17-yard pass to wide receiver Ben Skowronek. Then, the Steelers subbed backup quarterback Justin Fields into the game. Fields, as he typically does when he enters the game, ran the ball for a first down. But a late slide and unfortunate timing from Eagles linebacker Reed Blankenship drew an unnecessary roughness flag tacking on 15 extra yards. Fields was later ruled out of the game with an abdominal injury.
Then, six straight runs from Wilson, Harris, and running back Jaylen Warren got the ball to the nine-yard line. On third-and-goal, Wilson targeted Freiermuth for a nine-yard touchdown. Boswell hit the goalpost for the ensuing extra point, but it counted anyway, cutting the deficit to 17-10 with 2:34 left in the first half.
Watt wanted his offense to have the ball before the half. Watt was matched up against All-Pro and future Hall of Fame tackle Lane Johnson for most of the game. On second-and-seven, Watt shed a block and reached out to sack Hurts by his shin. Then, Watt spooked Johnson into a false start penalty setting up third-and-12. In an obvious passing down, Watt exploded into the backfield and sacked Hurts again for a loss of 12 yards. Making matters better for the Steelers, the ensuing punt was short and downed on the Eagles’ side of the field.
Although ball security was an issue and Wilson was sacked on second-and-ten to almost exit field goal range, Wilson hit Austin III for a 12-yard gain to give Boswell a 49-yard try. Steelers punter Corliss Waitman saved an almost tragic situation with a clutch hold and Boswell completed the paperwork.
The Eagles did take a timeout to give their offense 37 seconds to work with. But on the first snap of the series, Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith rushed Hurts untouched and sacked him for a loss of eight yards. That was enough punishment for Hurts, who led his offense off the field and into the locker room.
The Eagles led the Steelers 17-13 at the half.
The Eagles started the second half on offense and marched down the field fast. That momentum was killed when Smith was called for an illegal pick play. On second-and-twenty, Hurts scrambled and found Smith wide open for all twenty yards needed for the first down. The Steelers showed pristine tackling over the next three downs to force a 48-yard field goal try. The Eagles earned the three points, but the Steelers were flagged for roughing the long snapper, which gave the Eagles 15 yards and a first down. Stellar run defense, a holding penalty on the Eagles, and pressure on Hurts meant the error only gave Eagles placekicker Jake Elliot a field goal try seven yards closer. Eagles led 20-13.
The Steelers were poised to answer. On the first play of the second half for the visitors, offensive coordinator Arthur Smith called a flea flicker play and Wilson found Austin III for a 31-yard gain. Warren and Harris each recorded gains of more than five yards and the Steelers were set at the Eagles 26-yard line in a flash. But then, Harris couldn’t catch a pitch to him in the backfield which Slay recovered. A brutal error with a chance to score.
The Eagles capitalized. Hurts scrambled for a 23-yard gain and found running back Kenneth Gainwell for a first down on third-and-nine at Pittsburgh’s 15-yard line to get one-yard out from a touchdown. The Steelers stopped the patented Eagles’ “tush-push” once, but the play is so unstoppable the Eagles got it on the second try. Eagles led 27-13 with 14:14 left in the fourth quarter.
The Steelers needed Wilson to step up or a call to break their way. The offense gained a bit of momentum with nice plays from Austin III and running back Cordarrelle Patterson to get into Philadelphia’s territory. But Steelers center Zach Frazier was flagged for tripping, pushing the Steelers back 15 yards. Wilson did find wide receiver Mike Williams for 15 yards on third down, but that wasn’t nearly enough for a new set of downs. Waitman punted and pinned the Eagles at their six-yard line. But Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter punched a Steeler. Considering the flag occurred after the punt, the Eagles moved back half the distance to the goal.
A false start penalty on the first snap moved the Eagles back some more, but there weren’t many yards to lose. On third-and-six, the Steelers needed to get their offense the ball. But Brown burnt Porter Jr. on a quick slant and Brown took it 21 yards. The Eagles converted on two third downs with little resistance. Tragically, Watt went down with a lower-body injury and had to be helped off the field.
A fourth-and-one conversion with another tush-push wrapped up the game. The Steelers hardly held the ball on offense in the second half. When they had the ball, they hardly produced. Two early turnovers only resulted in three points for the Steelers in stark contrast to Harris’s fumble resulting in a touchdown for the Eagles.
The Steelers punted looking at fourth-and-seven with over 10 minutes remaining. The offense never touched the ball again, as the Eagles executed drive that took the remaining length of the game.
