First quarter: Steelers 7, Eagles 3
The Eagles trail the Steelers 7-3 in the first quarter. Pittsburgh put together an impressive drive on its first possession that resulted in a Ben Roethlisberger touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes. The Eagles got a David Akers field goal on their first possession. Brian Westbrook is not playing after agreeing to a new deal. Check back for updates throughout the game.
David Akers hit a 28-yard field goal to trim the Steelers lead to 7-3. The Eagles drove 70 yards on 14 plays, taking 7:19 off the clock.
Ben Roethlisberger hits wide receiver Santonio Holmes for a 19-yard touchdown.
15:00 -- Our announcers for the evening: Gus Johnson and Charley Casserly. I couldn't be more excited. The most exciting play-by-play man in the business, and the former GM who was ripped for picking Mario Williams over Reggie Bush, and now looks like a pretty smart guy.
14:16 -- The Steelers get the ball first. A 15-yard facemask penalty on Lito Sheppard. Not a good start. Casserly informs us that there are no 5-yard penalties for facemaks because of a rule change.
13:07 -- Uh-oh. Our first injury of the night. Quintin Mikell goes down.
12:09 -- Good news: Mikell looks like he'll be OK. Bad news: Ben Roethlisberger just connected with Santonio Holmes for a 19-yard completion.
11:12 -- Nice play by Sheldon Brown, making a stop behind the line of scrimmage.
10:27 -- Our first score of the night. That didn't take long. Roethlisberger connected with Santonio Holmes for a 19-yard touchdown. Brian Dawkins was (or wasn't) on the coverage.
9:47 -- Donovan McNabb throws on the first two plays. Raise your hand if you are surprised by this development.
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8:07 -- The Eagles added Jamal Lewis?? Never mind. Casserly misspoke. He was talking about Greg Lewis. In all seriousness, I'm really enjoying Casserly's insight so far.
7:50 -- Correll Buckhalter is touching the ball on nearly every play. I guess this would be a good time to mention that Brian Westbrook is not playing. I guess the Eagles are looking to protect their new investment. Absolutely the right call.
6:10 -- McNabb has completed his first five passes. We heard about how good he had been looking in camp. Casserly tells us Greg Lewis makes a play every time he watches him on film. Huh?
4:26 -- Jason Davis is called for a chop block, the Eagles' second 15-yard penalty on the night. "That's something we need to work on." I just channeled Reid from his post-game press conference. Didn't know I had those powers, did you?
3:11 -- The Eagles are forced to settle for a field goal. Nice drive, but it stalled in the red zone. Sound familiar? Great effort by Jason Avant on a McNabb throw on third down, but he couldn't get his feet down. David Akers nails a 28-yarder.
1:37 -- Mikell nails Holmes on third down. Great hit. Gus Johnson was so excited he went into NCAA tournament mode briefly. I may need to break out some YouTube highlights of Johnson in the third and fourth quarters when things slow down. By the way, Charlie Batch is in the game at quarterback for the Steelers.
1:28 -- DeSean Jackson doesn't have much room on his first punt return, picking up 4 y ards.