The Philadelphia Eagles make their 2021 preseason debut against the winner of the Hall of Fame Game, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Who will prevail and who is the best bet against NFL odds at the best online sportsbooks?
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Thursday, August 19, 2021 – 7:30 PM EST at Lincoln Financial Field
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers kicked off the 2021 NFL preseason with a 16-3 win over the Dallas Cowboys. While it was exciting to have football back on our TV screens, it definitely was a preseason game. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger did not suit up, leaving the majority of the snaps in the hands of Mason Rudolph and newcomer Dwayne Haskins.
Rudolph was 6-9 for 84 yards. Rudolph was definitely not as aggressive as Steelers backers would have hoped. However, we do not know if that was due to Rudolph being too timid to pull the trigger or by Tomlin’s design. There is definitely a backup quarterback battle going on in Pittsburgh. Rudolph had a golden opportunity last year to establish himself as an NFL starting-caliber quarterback with Ben Rothlisberger out and he failed to seize the opportunity. Now Rudolph is fighting for his NFL life as a backup and this performance could dictate whether he is the 2nd or 3rd string quarterback going into the start of the season.
Dwayne Haskins was a highly touted prospect at Ohio State and a first-round draft pick with questions about its work ethic and attitude. Attitude clouded his short tenure as a leader of the Washington Football Team. By getting picked up by Pittsburgh, Haskins has an opportunity to excel in one of the most well-run organizations in the NFL. It is safe to say that if Haskins is not able to be successful in Pittsburgh, many teams will feel he is not able to be successful anywhere in the NFL. So, Haskins has his work cut out for himself in this backup QB battle.
Haskins was 8-13 for 54 yards against Dallas. He is still struggling with working through his progressions and seems to be a one-read type of quarterback. Haskins needs to use this preseason to show that he is improving in his ability to read defenses. If Haskins fails to show that he can properly go through his progressions, his time in the NFL will be short.
After being a strength of the Steelers for many years, the offensive line failed them last year. The line was comprised of a bunch of veterans and a father time came calling. After replacing offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner and offensive line coach Shaun Sarrett, the new offensive coordinator Matt Canada and line coach Adrian Klemm are working on establishing aggressiveness, especially on the 2nd level, in this new young line. They did fairly well against Dallas, getting push off the ball. Pittsburgh will continue to use mostly its backup linemen in this game and hope they can find continuity. If last week’s performance against the Cowboys is any indication, the line should be a strength for the Steelers.
The Steelers have always had a strong defense full of big names but an emerging star is Alex Highsmith. Highsmith has impressed in camp and was a standout in the 1st preseason game. Keep an eye out for Highsmith as a potential breakout star this season.
Philadelphia Eagles
While the Steelers are pillars of stability with the same head coach and quarterback for over a decade, the Philadelphia Eagles are trying to stabilize after some turmoil. Doug Pederson won a Super Bowl with the Eagles in 2017 and appeared to be poised to lead the ship for decades. Yet last season was plagued with injuries, most notably Carson Wentz. Philadelphia was ravaged at almost every position group. A fractured relationship between GM Howie Roseman and Doug Pederson meant Pederson is out. The Eagles have hired head coach Nick Sirianni.
Sirianni takes over a franchise headed in the wrong direction, coming off a season where they went 4-11-1. Sirianni has ties to the Eagles organization as he previously was the offensive coordinator under Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich. Reich was the offensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles when they won the Super Bowl in 2017. Sirianni did not call the plays in Indianapolis so it will be interesting to see how he handles his first time being the leader of the whole team and running the offense.
A lot of Sirianni’s success will come down to the play of quarterback Jalen Hurts. When it became obvious that Carson Wentz was no longer the future of this team, Hurts got to start towards the end of the season and impressed with his willingness to win. While he still has a lot of ground to make up in reading defenses and going through progressions, Hurts had a knack for playing football. He instinctively knows when to run, grabbing huge 3rd down conversions with his feet and keeping drives alive, giving the Eagles energy and confidence.
However, in training camp this year, either the Eagle’s defense is really good or Hurts is really bad. Every day when the starters scrimmage the defense seems to get the best of Hurts. The question is, is the defense really that good? This will be partially answered as he gets his first test against live opposition this week. Hurts will need a couple of impressive performances to build momentum going into the season. With questions surrounding the coach and quarterback, a strong start is essential for the Eagles’ morale.
Key Matchup
How will Jalen Hurts fare against the Steelers’ vaunted defense? The Steelers do a good job bringing pressure up front, have versatile linebackers that can rush the QB, cover man to man, and run a solid secondary defensive zone scheme. They mix zone and man coverage quite well and they embody Tomlin’s hard nose, no nonsense personality. Hurts can start to silence some of the doubters who are discouraged by his training camp performance so far by having a big game against the Steelers. How Hurts fares against the Steelers defense will most likely determine the winner of this match-up.
Best Bet
I will take the team with stability and a clear vision for the franchise. Mike Tomlin always gets his team ready to go and this Steelers defense is going to be a tough matchup for Jalen Hurts. Hurts is struggling against his current defensive counterparts on the Eagles, who I don’t believe are nearly as talented as the Steelers’ defense. I expect the Steelers should look better in talent, attitude, and execution to get the victory against the spread. My NFL pick is the Pittsburgh Steelers.
NFL Pick: Steelers +1 (-105) at Bovada (visit our Bovada Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
