Eagles fall to Steelers, 16-14
PITTSBURGH -- A cold rain fell intermittently on Heinz Field. It was the second half of Eagles vs. Steelers, and the Eagles were trying to overcome another first half of mistakes.
Eagles fall to Steelers, 16-14
Rich Hofmann, Daily News Sports Columnist
PITTSBURGH -- A cold rain fell intermittently on Heinz Field. It was the second half of Eagles vs. Steelers, and the Eagles were trying to overcome another first half of mistakes.
It was a game where Michael Vick could not hold on to the ball, again. And where they couldn’t sack the quarterback, and where they trailed at the half, again. The deficit this time was 10-0, but that was just a detail. It is as if the first act of the script is written in ink now. There is nothing the Eagles can seem to do about it.
And this time, they could not overcome.
Vick led the Eagles on two second-half touchdown drives and the Eagles took a 14-13 lead in the fourth quarter. But in the end, the defense could not hold. A Shaun Suisham field goal from 34 yards with only zeroes left on the clock gave the Steelers the victory, 16-14.
Two Vick fumbles in the first half -- one of them just a yard away from scoring a touchdown -- doomed the Eagles to another afternoon of climbing out of a crater. Neither resulted in points for the Steelers, but one robbed the Eagles of points and the other just perpetuated a worrisome syndrome. It is a ridiculous way to try to make a living in the NFL, and the fact that they have been so good at it so far this season does not alter that truth.
It is too hard.
It cannot continue.
All of that said, the Eagles do make things thrilling. Down at the half, they kept coming. They scored their first touchdown with 6:32 left in the third quarter on a 15-yard touchdown pass to LeSean McCoy, a short throw that featured a devastating cutback move by McCoy that paralyzed Steelers linebacker Larry Foote.
Then, after a Steelers field goal, the Eagles put together a 17-play, 79-yard touchdown drive that ate up 8 minutes, 18 seconds. Along the way, they converted two fourth-down plays -- a gutsy fourth-and-1 from their own 31-yard line, when McCoy only gained the necessary acreage with a second effort, and another fourth-and-1 from the Steelers’ 47, when McCoy just slammed into the line for 2 yards.
The touchdown play was a 2-yard pass to tight end Brent Celek. Buried at halftime, the Eagles led by 14-13 with 6:33 left in the fourth quarter. Once again, their defense would either hold or not -- last week against the Giants’ Eli Manning, this week against the Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger.
This time, it could not hold. They could not sack Big Ben, and the Steelers’ quarterback hung in and made just enough plays to pull out the game. But he is a good player, and he is going to make some plays. This is not a defensive issue.
This is about fumbles. It is about another slow start. When will it end? If you know the answer to that question, you know how the Eagles’ season is going to turn out.
The worst 3-2 team in the league. Try the rookie at QB. Build for the future? There is no future with Vick.— billy goat- Vick is the problem. He sucks at reading the defense and is even worse at protecting the ball. He has no magic left in his body. We are all suckers just waiting to have a great big let down at the end of the season if we stay with Vick. There is NO WAY we should continue with his contract after this season. I guess we ride out the season and take what we can get full well knowing we are not super bowl quality.— Dr. D.
- The Eagles will be 3-3 at the break.
There record at the end of the season will be 9-7 if Vick can stop the turnovers or 8-8. They could Win the Division with 8-8 because this division is ad.— tulsaphil 
Comment removed.- On the field today i seen some Eagles wanted to win this game and seen a few Eagles who appear to be not in the game(the head)Andy,you gotta do a better job!— bill the pill
- Out of conference and on the road is a tough task, just ask Green Bay.
I know none of the dump-Vick supporters here never said the same thing about Castillo. They knew the Eagles 'D' would be this good.
— PittsburghPete - Reid has no balls? Going for it on 4th and 1 from his 30+/- and again later was an easy choice? Castillo? Pitts got 16 points. Vick? Questionable, but still better than KK. Nice last drive. Needs a little pine tar.— tpizza
- Watching Brady and Manning on Tv. Wishing the eagles had a tall, smart Qb who stands in the pocket and throws the ball. Oh, what's that, they do. Nick Foles. Then why are they playing a mindless midget that's a turnover machine. He actually said he doesn't have trouble fumbling. And I thought Mc Nabb was stupid.— Phil Checchia
- WC STINKS AS DC..HE HAS THE HORSES BUT HIS SCHEMES STINK!!!!-PS MOST YARDS RUNNING THIS SEASON--NO SACKS ON BEN!!!
AND ANDY WHAT HAPPEBED TO YOUR FULL BACK ?? AND RUN TO SET UP PASS--give VICK SOME TIME--??LOOK AT NEW ENGLAND AND HOW THEY WIN..? way too much of the same stale offensive play calling...— carmen2 - Castillo is a bad DC because they lost on a last second FG at Pitt? OK.
The Eagles will win the NFC East at 11-5, and all you haters can just pucker up and begrudgingly cheer. Bunch of geniuses and armchair QB's.
They lost two starting O-linemen, one a dominant LT. They need some time to gel there. I see the D getting better. I believe they will be a good team by the end of the year.
Reading you hater posts make me happy I moved to the south.— cdedrick05 - Eagles, same old, same old. The end goal is winning the Super Bowl. A good team?? I guess that's good enough for some, especially Laurie, filling the stands etc. This football team needs a short and long range plan to get us there. I feel that Mgmt. is satisfied with the status quo. and we will never see a championship with their obvious mind set. Positive thinking is a good thing, however Look at prior results with the same mindset that mgmt. has shown us. — olddog
- Fellas calm down, we are 3-2 and still leading the NFC East. Yes the turnovers hurt us and that has to end but we were leading until the last play of the game. We played Pittsburg at home in the rain and lost on the last play of the game. We are going to lose games, this is the NFL. It's called karma people stop being so negative and negative things will stop happening. For all of you morons that keep calling for a change in QB, lets wait until the Season is over before we move on from MV7. Coles may be the QB of the future but we are only 5 games into the season. Be positive and this team may do something special, maybe not the SB but this team is in the top 4 of the NFC.— eagles-fan-in-texas
- alas eagles fans...another loss closer to reids demise!— coastflyer
- Some of these fumbles this year are very suspicious.— Lets Eat
- They have the potential to be a lot better. Let's be honest, we have not been seeing a lot of good Eagles football yet. You know - lots of yards and exciting plays. The defense is solid but very unimaginative. It could use more variety. Yes, the DL is good and gets pressure on the QB. But not good enough to get sacks and limit throwing time. Big Ben had enough time to get the job done. My opinion is that they have a lot of talent and a lot to prove. They still have along way to go before achieving the excellence they could.— jerseyshorefan
