Rookie WR Claypool scores 4 TDs, Steelers top Eagles
Roethlisberger tosses three TD passes as Steelers breeze by hapless Eagles’ defense »
The Eagles didn’t play defense Sunday until they were barraged with questions about failing to do it in a 38-29 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field.
Head coach Doug Pederson was slightly less dismissive than Bill Belichick as he provided a handful of unnecessarily guarded answers, and not just about the lack of defense. Pederson turned to the old “Until I look at the film it’s hard to really comment” refrain and when offered a multiple-choice question, a shallow multiple-choice answer.
The Eagles shouldn’t have been at a loss for words. This is the second time this season they’ve been bombed for 37 or more points.
Five weeks into a 1-3-1 season that’s going to get worse next week, as the Baltimore Ravens come to Philly, the defense is allowing 29 points per game. Is it schematic, poor execution, both?
“We’re not winning,” said defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, who split the Eagles’ only sack with Javon Hargrave. “If we win this game, we’re not talking about the Eagle defense giving up 38 points. I think that’s the most important thing. Obviously, we had a couple of penalties that kept a couple of drives alive and gave them more opportunities to make more plays. We’ve got to get off the field, and we’ve got to win.”
Except for safety Rodney McLeod, that was the way the players played it.
Pederson, to his credit, conceded that linebacker Nate Gerry had no chance of stopping Steelers rookie receiver Chase Claypool on the backbreaking score with 2:59 remaining. Claypool turned a third-and-eight at the 35-yard line of the Eagles into his
fourth touchdown on the day.
“It was just a great route,” Pederson said. “It was a double move with a receiver on a linebacker and they caught us in, I think, a two-deep look at that point. It was a tough call there but well executed by them for the score.”
A tough call? Anybody who had witnessed Claypool scoring two of his first three touchdowns (one rushing, and it would have been four total if not for an ultra-soft offensive interference penalty) should have seen that mismatch before it happened. Two-point game, their most explosive threat against your worst defender in coverage?
Timeout, ref!
Ben Roethlisberger, who finished with three scoring passes and zero turnovers, ex
pected the Eagles to come at him with an all-out blitz.
“They sat back in a cover two zone, and it just wasn’t what we expected,” Roethlisberger said. “I saw that, and I changed the play. I can’t say enough about Chase getting down the middle of the field and kind of making that play for us.”
Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz blamed himself for not putting in a game plan detailed enough when the Eagles were shelled for 37 points by Jared Goff and the Los Angeles Rams. It won’t do any good taking the blame this week.
Roethlisberger took advantage of the Eagles’ manto-man coverage much of the game. The Steelers were 11-for15 on third down, Big Ben get
ting rid of the ball quickly with his receivers right at the sticks.
“They took advantage of that,” McLeod said. “Ben is a very experienced quarterback. He’s seen a lot. They had a plan on how they wanted to attack us running some shade plays out of bunches, a quick game to eliminate the pass rush. We have to look at the film and see how teams are going to try to attack us with us running a lot more man this year and be prepared for it.”
McLeod, like Pederson, gave credit to the Steelers for the game-busting Claypool play. In a copycat league, the opposition is going to run that until the Birds stop it.
“It was a great call versus the coverage we had,” McLeod said. “Ideally would we like Nate to be on a receiver? No.
We would prefer a defensive back. But that was the call that was made defensively, and they checked to a good play.”
At that point, the Eagles also were down their best cover cornerback, Darius Slay, who was evaluated for a head injury. It might not have made a difference because Slay was twice flagged for interference and all but worn out trying to keep up with Claypool, who had seven receptions for 110 yards.
Then again, the Steelers finally realized they better put multiple bodies on Travis Fulgham, who had a career day catching 10 of 13 targets for 152 yards and a touchdown. After the scoring grab followed by Carson Wentz’s two-point throw to rookie John Hightower, getting the
Eagles within 31-29 with 11:27 remaining, Fulgham didn’t have another catch.
The Eagles will have a week to think about the adjustment they should have made to cool off Claypool, who caught three scoring passes and scored on a misdirection play.
Defensive end Brandon Graham pointed to the penalties, five of which gave the Steelers first downs, as a tipping point. One was a phantom face mask on him that he insists didn’t happen. There was no replay.
“Eight penalties is just unacceptable,” Graham said. “We know that some of the stuff that showed up in practice showed up in games with the offsides and just little stuff we can correct. And that’s what hurt us at the end.”
The Steelers (4-0) clearly were the better team. Typically, however, they don’t score a lot of points. It was the first time they’ve scored
30 or more in 24 games. You also can question their competition. How good is a team that got its success against teams with a combined record of 2-14-1?
Pederson knows how that feels, and he obviously doesn’t like it. And you can bet your bottom dollar he’s going to second-guess his decision to let Jake Elliott attempt a 57yard field goal instead of telling Wentz or Jalen Hurts, who threw his first NFL completion, to get him a first down on fourth-and-5 at the 39-yard line of Pittsburgh with 3:23 left. Elliott pushed the kick that would have given the Eagles the lead wide right.
The Eagles were that close to wiping out the Steelers’ lead, and at the very least make them sweat their first
4-0 start since they last won a Super Bowl.
“We’ve got to fix our issues,” Graham said. “People are going to still run it on us if we don’t fix our issues.”