THURSDAY NIGHT PRESEASON NFL: PITTSBURGH STEELERS AT PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

BY ADAM GREENE

Thanks to the NFL Network, we can watch all of the NFL’s preseason action, just not all of it live. That means you won’t miss a single play as Pittsburgh Steelers No. 4 left tackle Aviante Collins whiffs on a block that leads to a sack. You will sit in stunned silence as Philadelphia Eagles reserve running back Kenneth Gainwell steps out of bounds on third down, inches short of a first down pick up. It’s that preseason magic we all can’t get enough of!

So, unless you live in Pennsylvania, prepare to watch this one in highlights or on replay as the Pittsburgh Steelers travel east across the state to take on the Philadelphia Eagles.

PITTBSURGH STEELERS AT PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (-1, O/U 35)

Location: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pa.

Broadcast: Locally live, replay on NFL Network

Kickoff: Aug. 12, 7:30 p.m. EST

PITTSBURGH STEELERS (1-0)

The Steelers, coming off a win in the Hall of Fame Game, should probably not switch it up too much in this game. If anything, they should sit more starters outside of Ben Roethlisberger like first round pick Najee Harris and wide receiver Chase Claypool, who both played plenty of snaps against the Dallas Cowboys last week.

The Steelers really need to use these preseason games to see what they have in the quarterback room in Mason Rudolph and Dwayne Haskins, two guys who usually have the word “disappointing” attached to their names. Joshua Dobbs, as he often does, is auditioning not just for Pittsburgh, but for other teams as he’s a quality back up, who just might not have a roster spot with the Steelers when the preseason shakes out.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (0-0)

While the Steelers have the opportunity to sit some starters, I’m not sure the Eagles do. They’ve got to build some kind of offensive consistency and doing it in live action might be the best way to accomplish it. As such, don’t be surprised to see presumptive starter Jalen Hurts play at least a full quarter if not a half before Joe Flacco and Nick Mullins ride it out the rest of the way.

This was a team that underperformed so bad last season they saw both their Super Bowl winning head coach and former franchise quarterback run out of town. They’ve got some things to prove under first year coach Nick Sirianni.

THE PICK

That urge to actually show up works in Philly’s favor. Sirianni is going to push Hurts a little, especially against a Pittsburgh defense that will play starters for at least a series. He’ll want to build Hurts’ confidence and try to get a couple of scoring drives out of him. Pittsburgh already has a preseason win and I don’t feel that head coach Mike Tomlin takes the exhibition games especially seriously (outside individual performances). It’s the luxury of being a Super Bowl winning and likely Hall of Fame head coach. Eagles 20, Steelers 16

Last week

Straight up: 1-0

Against the spread: 1-0

Preseason

Straight up: 1-0

Against the spread: 1-0

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