Saturday Stuff

We have a couple of updates heading into the Battle of Pennsylvania. The Steelers uphill battle against the undefeated Eagles just got a bit tougher.

Steelers OLB T.J. Watt — who was designated to return from injured reserve last week, opening a 21-day window for him to make it back to the active roster — was not activated today and is not eligible to play Sunday vs. the Eagles.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 29, 2022

The Steelers are going to sign Nick Sciba to kick against the Eagles pet @gerrydulac and me. Sciba was with the Steelers in camp.

— Ray Fittipaldo (@rayfitt1) October 29, 2022

The Steelers won’t get their stud pass rusher back until after their bye. That’s smart. If you thought he would be the difference between winning and losing this week, you play him. If not, keep him out and he has two more weeks of recovery before the next game. The Eagles are clearly the better team even with Watt in the mix. I think keeping him out shows good big picture thinking.

Pittsburgh will have a backup kicker going for them. That could be important because they kick a lot of FGs. They are tied for sixth in field goat attempts. They are 22nd in the league in red zone offense so that means more FGs than TDs.

Sciba was 2 for 2 in the preseason, with both being less than 40 yards. He was a great kicker at Wake Forest, but never hit a 50-yard FG. Based on his background, he’s a consistent, accurate kicker. We’ll see how he handles the pressure of his first NFL game.

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Streaks are made to be broken. We saw that when the Eagles went to Arizona in Week 5 and won in the desert for the first time since 2001. As Nick Sirianni put it, the losses from 2008 or even 2020 have nothing to do with AJ Brown, James Bradberry, Haason Reddick, etc. This is a different team. Don’t worry about the past.

But…

https://twitter.com/NFLonFOX/status/1586401978497740801

That is a lot of different players and coaches. Pittsburgh has had some bad luck in those losses, but they’ve also gotten outplayed in those games. The fact that streak goes back to the mid-60’s is crazy. I do have to point out the Eagles benefited from not playing the Steelers during their peak in the 1970’s. Lucky break.

I don’t see this streak ending this year.

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The Eagles did make one personnel move today.

Practice squad: Eagles have released K Cameron Dicker and signed DE Tarron Jackson. pic.twitter.com/OnCgDxnvs6

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) October 29, 2022

Jackson had a good offseason and preseason. He just didn’t flash when he got on the field this year. He’s still worth keeping around and trying to develop. He has potential. Maybe Robert Quinn can teach him a thing or two about how to get to the QB.

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I imagine Robert Quinn’s role this weekend will be limited to where he’s just a rusher/edge-setter working from a 2pt stance as he prefers. He was stuck in a 3pt stance too often this year. He’s a 2pt specialist with that get-off and bend.

— Honest NFL (@TheHonestNFL) October 28, 2022

I also noticed that Quinn seemed to like being in a 2-pt stance. It will be interesting to see if he plays from that look. I’m excited to see how the Eagles use him and how Quinn plays.

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The Steelers play a lot of small-ball. They are last in the league in yards per play. That makes scoring points and winning games incredibly challenging. Explosive plays are a key component to success. I wonder if the Steelers will be more aggressive on Sunday or if that is something they’ll work on in the bye week.

The #steelers rank last in yards per play. They need some splash plays. Is this the week? It may be tough. My report on NFL NOW on @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/nGD8WKQGzv

— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) October 28, 2022

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Jimmy Bama says the Eagles are still looking at potential trades.

What's next for the Eagles at the trade deadline? https://t.co/8friuGyn0q

— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) October 28, 2022

You can trust him when it comes to the Eagles. Just don’t give him $3000 for an invention that he and his cousin Klaus are working on. You’ll never see that money again.

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