5 things we learned: Steelers' offense has historically bad showing in loss to Eagles

Five things we learned from Eagles 27, Steelers 13:

1. Historic horror story

The Steelers entered the game leading the NFL in time of possession but ended having their offense on the field about as long as the average hockey shift.

How bad was it? The Steelers had the ball for two drives and 5 minutes, 50 seconds after halftime, and their total possession time encompassed 20:08. This from a team that was averaging 32:29 through the first 13 games.

The last time the Steelers possessed the ball for less time in a game was a 33-21 home loss to the St. Louis Rams in 2000 when they held it for exactly 20 minutes.

For comparison purposes, it took 19 years for the Steelers to have such an anemic total. They held the ball for just 20:33 in the 2019 finale at Baltimore, the last game of the Duck Hodges era. Two years later, the Steelers had a 20:52 time of possession in a win against Tennessee. Those were the only instances in the Mike Tomlin era when the Steelers had the ball for fewer than 21 minutes until Sunday.

Worse, the Steelers ran just 41 plays, their lowest total in 33 years. You’d have to dig back in the archives to Oct. 27, 1991, in a 27-7 loss to Seattle to find the last time the Steelers had 41 offensive snaps in a game.

In terms of yardage, the 163 gained by the offense, which included just 1 yard after the first quarter, might have looked like a leftover from the Matt Canada era. Actually, it was the worst showing since a 19-11 victory in 2010 against Tennessee when Bruce Arians was calling the plays.

2. Flip side

When the offense is on the field for such brief periods of time, it’s also an indictment of the defense, which couldn’t find a way to get off the field.

Playing without Larry Ogunjobi and DeShon Elliott and losing Donte Jackson to injury in the first half, the Steelers were helpless to keep the Eagles and quarterback Jalen Hurts off the field. The Eagles converted 10 of 17 third-down attempts and succeeded on a fourth down tush-push play.

The Eagles had just three possessions after halftime. They got a field goal at the end of a 13-play, 52-yard drive that increased their lead to 20-13. Then, after Najee Harris couldn’t handle a pitch from Russell Wilson, the Eagles converted the turnover into a touchdown that ended a 13-play, 74-yard march.

For a final insult, the Eagles burned the final 10:29 after Tomlin punted on fourth-and-7 from the Philadelphia 46.

Aside from the lopsided time of possession, there was nothing historical about the way the Eagles dominated the Steelers. The 401 yards allowed by the defense was the second most yielded this season, and it was the fourth time an opponent put up at least 27 points.

3. No bite from Barkley

With the Eagles exceeding 400 yards and compiling 26 first downs, one would expect NFL rushing leader Saquon Barkley to play a large role in the outcome.

Barkley, though, was quiet by his standards, although questions about an injury that kept him off the field for much of the second quarter arose after the game. Barkley finished with a pedestrian 65 rushing yards on 19 carries, an average of 3.4 yards per attempt.

Simply put, the Eagles didn’t need to rely on Barkley, not with Hurts moving his offense efficiently down the field with his array of short passes to the open field. Some poor tackling by the Steelers also was a factor.

Barkley entered with nine 100-yard rushing games this season, 13 runs of 20-plus yards and an NFL-high 37 carries of at least 10 yards. Barkley had a long gain of 22 yards and no other carry that reached double digits.

Remove that burst from the equation, and the Steelers held him to 43 yards on 18 attempts.

4. Automatic three

Chris Boswell continued his assault on the record book and showed he is the team’s most valuable offensive weapon.

Boswell made two more field goals — from 37 and 49 yards — and broke two of his team records. He has 38 field goals, surpassing the 36 he kicked in 2021, and his 144 points represents a new standard, breaking his 142 from 2017. And three games remain in the season.

Boswell also remained perfect on extra points at 30 for 30, though he needed some help from the right upright following the Steelers’ only touchdown to keep that streak intact.

5. Missing George

George Pickens’ hamstring can’t heal fast enough for the Steelers, who will need his playmaking skills on the field Saturday at Baltimore when the division title will be on the line.

Unlike the previous week, when the Steelers made do without Pickens in a win against the last-place Cleveland Browns, his absence couldn’t be overcome against a step up in competition.

It took a flea-flicker for the Steelers to amass their biggest play of the game, a 31-yard completion to Calvin Austin III. It was just one of three pass plays that gained more than 14 yards. The others were a 17-yard pass to Ben Skowronek and a 15-yarder to Mike Williams, who was on the field for just 15 plays or 35% of the offensive snaps.

Austin was the only receiver with more than one catch against the Eagles, finishing with five for 65 yards. The rest of the position contributed three catches and 32 yards, including one for zero yards by starter Van Jefferson.