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The Philadelphia Eagles will look to improve to 2-2-1 when they take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 5 at Heinz Field. The Eagles finally got their first win of the 2020 season in Week 4 against the San Francisco 49ers, though it's worth mentioning the team didn't face 49ers starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
The Steelers are favored to defeat the Eagles in Week 5 since they are 3-0 on the season. However, Pittsburgh could be rusty since its Week 4 matchup against the Tennessee Titans was postponed due to COVID-19.
With that being said, ClutchPoints has made four bold predictions for the game.
1. Carson Wentz will start to look like his MVP self again
During the 2017 season, Carson Wentz was in the MVP conversation. He led the Eagles to an 11-2 record and threw for 3,296 yards and 33 touchdowns.
Unfortunately, Wentz missed the last three games of the season due to a season-ending ACL injury in his left knee. Although he put up monster numbers in 2019 (4,039 yards, 27 touchdowns, seven interceptions), the Eagles went only 9-7 and lost to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL Wild Card Game.
Thus far in 2020, Wentz hasn't looked good at all. He's thrown seven interceptions in four games compared to only four touchdowns. Things have gotten so bad for the former Pro Bowler that some Eagles fans want to see Jalen Hurts get the starting job.
However, after Wentz and Co. got a solid road win against the 49ers, things may be starting to turn around for the Eagles. Week 5 against the Steelers is the perfect game for Wentz to play like that 2017 MVP version and quiet all the critics in Philly.
The Steelers are allowing 242 passing yards per game on the season, so look for Wentz to light it up against Pittsburgh and show everyone he's still capable of being a superstar QB.
2. Eagles will pick off Ben Roethlisberger three times
After only playing in two games in 2019, Ben Roethlisberger has come back with a vengeance this season. Through the Steelers' first three games, Big Ben has seven touchdown passes and 777 passing yards.
While the Eagles currently have the 20th ranked defense in the NFL in terms of points per game and only two defensive interceptions, Roethlisberger has never really carved up the Eagles' secondary during his career. The future Hall of Famer has faced the Eagles four times. He's 2-2 with three touchdowns and three interceptions.
With that being said, look for Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz to be extra aggressive against the Steelers with different blitz packages and coverages, which could result in Roethlisberger getting happy feet and throwing some errant passes.
3. Miles Sanders will rush for over 100 yards, score one touchdown
Eagles running back Miles Sanders has carried the ball 51 times on the season for 236 yards and one touchdown. The Steelers currently have the No. 1 rushing defense in the NFL in terms of rushing yards per game, as they are giving up only 54 a contest.
These are bold takes for a reason, though, folks. The Eagles are looking to get some positive momentum after starting the season slow and will certainly need Sanders to have a stellar game against the Steelers' vaunted defense.
This will be Sanders' first game ever in the NFL versus Pittsburgh, so the youngster will be motivated to have a career game when not many people are expecting him to have success.
4. Eagles win to improve to 2-2-1
Since the Steelers' rhythm was disrupted after the postponement of the Titans game, look for the Eagles to come out aggressive on both sides of the ball early in the first quarter to send a message to Pittsburgh.
Eagles head coach Doug Pederson is a Super-Bowl-winning coach for a reason. He still has the full trust and respect of his locker room and the players have likely heard all the noise in the media about how Pederson has lost his touch on offense and should hire an offensive coordinator.
Sometimes, teams rally around each other when the naysayers get really loud as they do in Philadelphia. Look for the Eagles to play with a lot of passion and fire against the Steelers and come away with a huge road win to extend their lead in the NFC East.
It may not always be pretty, but the Eagles are clearly the best team in the NFC East since the New York Giants, Washington Football Team and Dallas Cowboys are dysfunctional from top to bottom.
The Eagles have stability at the quarterback and head coaching spot, the most important positions in the NFL. While the Steelers with Roethlisberger and Mike Tomlin have that as well, Philadelphia has more to play for at this point in the young season.
