While the Philadelphia Eagles are widely considered the favorites to come out of Week 15 with another notch in their wins column, that could all change if the Pittsburgh Steelers start picking off passes and forcing fumbles at a feverish clip, something they do better than every other team in the NFL.
Currently sitting first in the NFL in turnover differential, the Steelers have been taking advantage of the carelessness of their opponents all season long, but can the Eagles avoid a similar fate? Well, head coach Nick Sirianni is certainly aware of that fact, as, during his Friday media session, he broke down all of the talent the Steelers have on the defensive side of the ball and how they use that to gain additional possessions on the offensive side of the ball.
“[Steelers LB T.J. Watt] No. 90. No. 90 is outstanding. You can see how he plays and the ability he has to get the quarterback, and retrace to the quarterback, and always have that ball on his mind. My experience has been when you have a guy that’s a ball hawk like him, that goes throughout,” Sirianni told reporters.
“And [Steelers S] Minkah Fitzpatrick is too on the back end. Those guys get an opportunity to learn from him, so you can see [Steelers LB Nick] Herbig playing that way, [Steelers LB Alex] Highsmith playing that way. So they do a really good job getting after the quarterback and having the ball on their mind when that happens. So we have to counter that, and we have different ways we’ll need to do that. We’ll have to play a good game because they’re good players.”
Interesting stuff, right? But wait, it gets better, as Sirianni noted that he learned some interesting insight into the Seelers' culture from watching their recent appearance on Hard Knocks: In Season With the AFC North.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni is impressed with the Steelers' culture
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Discussing the Steelers further, Sirianni noted that after watching the team on Hard Knocks, he's earned a newfound respect for the team, as he believes they are good from top to bottom.
“I think I’ve said this earlier in the week – you can tell that it’s part of their culture. You can tell [Steelers Head] Coach [Mike] Tomlin talks about it a lot. I guess you get to see it a little bit in the episodes of Hard Knocks when he talks about it,” Sirianni told reporters. “That’s an advantage that you get to see some of those things. But [I’ve] got a lot of respect for Coach Tomlin and his staff and how consistent he’s been throughout his entire career. It’s very impressive. That doesn’t happen without good culture, good players, good coaches.”
After putting together 18 straight seasons without a sub.500 record, Tomlin truly has built something special in Pittsburgh, with his players all working together without having to worry about turnover at the top. If that comfortability has allowed the Steelers to play loose and fight for the balls, then it really is no wonder the Steelers lead the league in turnover differential or that the Eagles will have to play exceptional football to stay ahead of Pittsburgh's two-way attack.
