No Dimensional Offense

 It wasn't our prettiest win, but it was a win none the less. The Eagles defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 15-6. It was a game of defense (on both sides), and our defense took away everything. 180 yards of total offense. That is what the Eagles gave up to the Steelers. The birds dismantled the Steelers running and passing game, and recorded 9 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 interception, and a safety.

The Steelers have a strong offensive tradition of running the football, and this year doesn't look to deviate from that in any way. Willie Parker ran for 243 yards in the Steelers first two games of the season, but hit a brick wall in the Eagles defense. The Eagles held parker to 20 yards on 13 carries. In total, the Steelers were only able to amass 33 yards rushing on 19 attempts. The Eagles forced the Steelers to abandon the running game, thus making them a one dimensional offense.

The Eagles forced the Steelers to beat us through the air. Needless to say, they couldn't. When the run was no longer a factor Jim Johnson waged an all out war on Ben Roethlisberger. Johnson sent blitzers from everywhere. The result was that, Roethlisberger was sacked 9 times, fumbled twice, and tackled for a safety. The one instance in which he had time he threw the deep ball, and Asante Samuel was in perfect position and he made the pick. The Eagles systematically took away the Steelers offense.

When a team can play defense like this, they are going to win more games than they are going to lose. So far, the Eagles have not allowed an opponent to gain 100 yards rushing. If they can continue to force teams to abandon then run, they have the talent, and a strong chance that they can take away the pass too. Do the Birds need to record 9 sacks every game to be successful? No, but it doesn't hurt. They will need to apply the same amount of pressure though. Let's hope there is more where that came from.