Eagles vs. Steelers Week 5 game predictions

When I look at this Philadelphia Eagles versus Pittsburgh Steelers matchup on paper, I just don’t think this is a good spot for the Birds.

Carson Wentz is mightily struggling and life isn’t going to be any easier for him going up against a tough defense. The Eagles’ offensive line has played fairly well — relative to meager expectations, at least — thus far ... but the Steelers’ elite pass rush is a whole new challenge. A turnover or two could be a death knell for the Eagles since it’s not like they can count on their offense to easily move the ball on this opponent.

Philly’s defense is inspiring some confidence after proving capable of pummeling quarterbacks in their past two games. I do wonder to what extent the Eagles’ defensive line success will continue, though, with Ben Roethlisberger getting the ball out as fast as he is. The Steelers have enough quality pass-catching options for him to work with.

My head tells me the Eagles should lose this game. I don’t really last week’s win over the San Francisco 49ers was about sustainable success. They were still out-gained by their opponent. They got some positive regression in areas like Wentz playing somewhat better and takeaways. They took advantage of a team even more injured than they were. They needed no name players to have the best games of their lives.

But my gut feeling makes me wonder if the Eagles may have actually turned a corner. They were certainly playing more inspired football last week. And maybe the Steelers are scarier on paper than they truly are since they’ve only beaten up on bad teams so far.

When I wrote my prediction post for last week’s game, I thought the Eagles losing to the 49ers was pretty cut and dry. By the time kickoff arrived, however, and I saw all the Sunday Night Football hosts picking against the Birds ... I suddenly had a change of heart. You just can’t entirely count out Doug Pederson’s Eagles when they’re underdogs.

And so I’m going against my objective outlook on this matchup ... I’m taking the Eagles to win.

For more, check out BGN’s weekly NFL game predictions.

Suggested format:

Score prediction:

Bold prediction:

My predictions:

My season record: 1-3

Score prediction: 13 to 10, Eagles win.

Bold prediction: Jason Huntley scores the Eagles’ only touchdown.

Your predictions:

Leave your own score predictions in the comments.