PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Brightest bright side for the Steelers next year is you believe they are the Eagles of the 2025 season. It’s a team relying on a running game and a strong defense.
Are the Steelers close to being the Eagles?
Team President Art Rooney said Philadelphia shows you can win with more than one approach. The Eagles were second to the Ravens in the NFL in rushing yards as both were 400 yards clear of the next best team.
“We've got to build on the strengths that we can put together in our room,” Rooney said. “And I still think that running the ball is a route to success, particularly when you're playing without a roof and outside, things like that.”
Here is the difference in the Steelers and Eagles. When Kansas City stuffed the run in the Super Bowl, Philly was willing and able to throw the ball downfield and had a quarterback that would make a defense pay, especially on third downs. Defensively, the Eagles were able to embarrass a three-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback while rushing only four.
Bottom line, the Steelers aren’t really close to being as good as the blueprint they want to follow. It was proven out in the biggest game and when they played each other, when Philly could have named the score.
Let’s compare.
Running back
Mike Tomlin loves to use the phrase JV when it comes to play that isn’t good enough. The Steelers running backs are JV compared to Philly.
Saquon Barkley
· the 27-year-old is one of one, you can’t go find another player like that. He’s the best running back in the NFL this year and just the ninth player ever to rush for over 2,000 yards. Not only is he the best running back in the League, he also averaged 8.4 yards per reception and is not only a capable, but an exceptional and willing blocker.
Najee Harris
· set a Steelers record with four 1,000-yard seasons to begin his career.
Congratulations to him. In four seasons, Harris had 9, 100-yard games. In 2024 alone, Barkley had 11, 100-yard games. While Harris won’t return, Jaylen Warren has never been tasked with that workload and the Steelers may not find someone as good as Harris.
Offensive line
The guys who open the door for Barkley have a combination of 12 Pro Bowls while the Steelers have one, by Isaac Seumalo this season. Offensive line rankings can be tricky, opinions are more subjective without concrete stats to measure the groups. However you do it, the Eagles are far and away better.
Here are the rankings from Pro Football Focus
· Tackle--Eagles Jordan Mailata is ranked as the best in the NFL with Lane Johnson 5th//Steelers-Broderick Jones 65th and rookie Troy Fautanu did not play this season. Jones should move to left tackle, which could help his performance and the team is high on Fautanu, but it’s unknown what he will do
· Guards—Eagles Landon Dickerson 4th overall, Mehki Becton 18th while Seumalo is 26th and rookie Mason McCormick 54th
· Center—it’s where the Steelers have an advantage, rookie Zach Frazier 5th, Cam Jurgens 11th
Receivers
Steelers don’t matchup well with any team, but the Eagles, while lacking depth, can put their top two up against any team. This doesn’t need much explanation, just an understanding the Eagles have the ability to make chunk plays consistently, while the Steelers is sporadic at best.
Eagles
· AJ Brown 67-1079, 16.1, 7 TD, DeVonta Smith 68-833, 12.2, 8 TD
Steelers
· George Pickens 59-900, 15.3, 3 TD, Calvin Austin 36-548, 15.2, 4 TD
Quarterback
Jalen Hurts has all of this in front of him and while not even the best quarterback in his division, he has the ability to complete the ball downfield. He also brings a unique quality with his legs and an automatic first down on third and fourth and short or touchdown at the goal line.
· Jalen Hurts for 68.7%, 2903 yards, 18 TD, 5 INT in 14 games, rushed for 630 yards, 14 TD. To prove his ability to be a dual threat, when the Steelers stacked the box against Barkley, Hurts went 25-32 (3rd most of the season) for 290 yards, 2 TD, 45 rushing yards
· Steelers combined for 64.3%, 3264 yards, 21 TD, 6 INT in 17 games, 444 rushing yards, 7 TD
Defensive line
Eagles built their defensive line with a trio of younger, first-round picks. It’s an area where the Steelers need investment. It’s a deep defensive line draft, while the overall priority is offense, defensive line must improve.
You can see what the Steelers are trying to build. They want to be Philadelphia. They even poached Andy Weidl from the Philly front office, but they aren’t there yet. Several pieces are needed before they can say they are the Eagles and it’s likely going to take time while Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, CJ Stroud, Justin Herbert remain in their prime.