Eagles Secondary, Steelers O-line Dominant in Week 2

The NFL preseason opened its week two slate with an amicable exhibition between state rivals the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers. The Eagles secondary – essentially at full strength – forced turnovers galore in the first half while the Steelers offensive line – welcoming back center Maurkice Pouncey after a year out of the game – picked up right where it left off last season.

Philly’s much-maligned defensive backfield had its way with Landry Jones at Heinz Field, forcing four interceptions in just one half of football. Two of those picks came in the endzone, blanking the Steelers’ starters on the scoreboard – albeit missing some big names in Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown.

The takeaway party started early for the Eagles, with Nolan Carroll jumping a hook route and taking it 40 yards to the house. With the Steelers driving on a later series, Jones’ endzone pass was tipped by Leodis McKelvin and picked off by Malcolm Jenkins.

The points kept falling off the board as former CFL All-Star Aaron Grymes made an athletic INT on an endzone grab that would’ve been thrown more carefully by a better quarterback. On the ensuing drive, pressure forced Jones into a reckless midfield heave, gifting Jaylen Watkins a turnover and ending Landry’s miserable night.

The Eagles D should take a lot of confidence out of a critic-silencing performance. The offense might not have done much with the bailouts, but this secondary’s bend-don’t-break play style is how defenses dominate in the modern game.

Somewhat lost in Jones’ awful performance was the stoutness of Pittsburgh’s O-line. Pouncey wasn’t asked to do much in his return following an ACL tear last preseason, but looked mobile and confident moving around.

Battling for the starter’s job at LT, both Alejandro Villanueva and Ryan Harris were strong, helping to form a clean pocket around Jones on just about every passing down.

Again, with a full-strength offense, the QB’s stat sheet would’ve more accurately reflected his premium protection. But for now, the Steelers will have to be content with the play of everyone bar the quarterback, while hoping and praying that Big Ben can stay healthy for all of 2016.