Bleeding Green Nation
Opposing player to stop, Week 15 edition.
Russell Wilson is 6-0 lifetime (including postseason) as a starter against the Eagles. So, the veteran quarterback has that on his side when he faces the Eagles this Sunday at 4:25 p.m. at Lincoln Financial Field. The problem is, the current team Wilson plays for, the Pittsburgh Steelers, have not beaten the Eagles in Philadelphia since October 24, 1965, when the Steelers edged the Eagles, 20-14, thanks in part to a Jim (not Terry) Bradshaw 82-yard interception return.
Since then, the Steelers are 0-10 in Philadelphia against the Eagles, and actually trail the all-time series 48-29-3. The Eagles’ 10-game home winning streak against the Steelers includes Pittsburgh’s 1979 Super Bowl XIV champion Steelers’ team that lost to the Eagles, 17-14, on September 30, 1979. Some deemed that an early Super Bowl preview, like some may be looking at this game as a possible Super Bowl look.
Those 1979 Steelers wound up winning their fourth Super Bowl in six years, concluding possibly the greatest dynasty in NFL history, while the 1979 Eagles lost to Ricky Bell and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the divisional round of the playoffs that season.
The Eagles’ 10-0 home record against the Steelers since 1965 also figures historically into this game. The Eagles will be carrying a franchise-record tying nine-game winning streak into Sunday, with the 1949, 1960, 2003 and 2017 Eagles’ teams, three of which won NFL championships (1949, 1960 and 2017).
There will be a lot of history riding on Sunday: Wilson’s personal winning streak (as a Seattle Seahawk) against the Eagles; the Eagles’ 10-0, 59-year home winning streak against the Steelers, and the Eagles looking to win a franchise-record 10th-straight game.
As for the game itself, Wilson is aware of the history.
“I’ve gotten to play there several times. It’s a place that is a tough environment to play,” Wilson said this week. “It’s a place with great energy, and like I said, we’ve got to bring our best.”
Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin is calling this game the “Pennsylvania State Championship.”
“Really excited about this one, man. This Pennsylvania State Championship. Excited about representing the WPIAL in this,” he said. “They’re a really good football team. They need no endorsement from me.”
Maybe someone needed to remind Tomlin that the WPIAL did not fair so well this past season in the PIAA state football championships. St. Joseph’s Prep won its ninth state championship overall and sixth Class 6A (large school) state title in the last seven years by beating Pittsburgh Central Catholic last week. It also marked the first time since 1992 that the dominant District 7 (WPIAL/Pittsburgh) was shutout from winning a state championship.
More importantly, Tomlin also stated Steelers’ leading receiver George Pickens may miss the game with a hamstring injury that he injured in Week 14.
When asked about Wilson as a dual-threat quarterback still mobile at 36, Eagles’ defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said, “It’s always a delicate balance. Ideally. You want...
