Eagles vs Steelers 2004 Week 9 (Full Game)

the fans flooding in getting ready to watch this battle for the state of pennsylvania and their new hero about to take the [Applause] field welcome to pittsburgh and welcome to a battle of two of the best teams in the nfl today on fox the eagles and the steelers and now welcome to the broadcast booth everybody i'm joe buck troy and chris in just a second this place is going nuts the pittsburgh steelers surprising at six and one trying to become the first team in nfl history this deep into the season to beat undefeated teams in back-to-back weekends i'll check it over to chris collinsworth and chris the eagles roll in here best start in franchise history 7-0 it'll be a stiff test for the steelers today yeah it really will be and i know there's no such thing as a halfway super bowl but if there were i believe these two teams would be in it you look at the philadelphia eagles all the star power donovan mcnabb terrell owens javon curse are they the best team in the national football league troy i think we're gonna know a lot more about that after today well yeah and if the eagles are the best team in the league then the steelers are certainly right on their heels winners of five straight and the way that they've been able to do it is playing great defense and running the football but the guy who's been getting all the attention is rookie quarterback ben roethlisberger who's been absolutely terrific and getting better each week and one of the reasons why is he's had great protection well that's going to be vital here today because he's facing an eagles defense that loves the blitz and loves the blitz often and how well they handle that is going to determine their success and really a change for the steelers is how much better their running game is this year but they will not have deuce staley available today he is out with a bad hamstring that means it's old school steelers with jerome bettis the bus running the ball for the majority of the afternoon there's still time to select your singular fantasy football team for this week text message play to 63 504 on your singular wireless phone or vote on foxsports.com it's like a state championship type atmosphere or a great bowl atmosphere against intra-state rivals it's the pittsburgh steelers it's the philadelphia eagles is this the first of two match-ups this year the football game is coming your way next on fox [Applause] it is a scalper's dream this is a tough ticket here in pittsburgh and for more on today's game and a special visit nice to be able to throw it again down to pam oliver hey joe buck they've already knocked off one undefeated team today they go for an historic two in a row bill coward what gives you your best chance to beat philly today i'd like to continue to play smart man we have not turned the ball over one turn over the last three games get a fast start get our crowd into it hope we can feed off of that you've been very emphatic you don't want their 81 t.o to beat you how do you make sure that that doesn't happen awareness we gotta be aware where he is at all time to move around we gotta make him take the short stuff and we're gonna take a big play away they've been a big play offense thanks so much phil let's go back upstairs to joe all right pam thank you very much there is t.o tara lowens who has made such a difference with his nine touchdown receptions donovan mcnabb has been on the other end of him and this undefeated team the last undefeated team in the nfl taking on ben roethlisberger and this surprising 6-1 steeler club see how pumped up david akers is antoine randall l will take a knee and that's how pumped up david akers is gets it into the end zone working with the wind and ben roethlisberger the rookie 22 years old and here's what he has done a completion percentage of 70.1 the rookie record 58.4 the quarterback rating over 104 and to be fair to dan marino they're not asking ben roethlisberger to throw like the dolphins were using mourinho back in 83. so there it's it's not really a fair comparison no it's not joe but i'll say this everyone's talking about how great he has played as a rookie he's played great regardless of whether you're a rookie or a veteran the steelers will start with a play action and drop it off to the fullback kreider has a first down and as good as ben roethlisberger has been to me clearly the difference in the pittsburgh steelers this year has been getting back to their roots they've been running the football already 10 touchdowns rushing this year that match what they had the entire season a year ago taking a lot of pressure off of roethlisberger although it's been deuce daily and today it's the bus back in action yeah these are your grandkids steelers today with jerome bettis the featured back no deuce staley and venice gets his first of the day crosses the 35 picked up four and we look at the rest of this offense and i guess guys you really have to credit the job russ grimm has done with this offensive line this has been such a change from a year ago well it really is and primarily because there were injuries along the offensive line so they had to make some changes that also is what got them away from running the football a year ago but now they've gotten back to basics deuce staley number three in the afc with his 707 yards he's on pace for his best year ever hurt his hamstring in practice on friday inactive today so it's venice again jerome bettis for the first down into philadelphia territory jerome bettis got a lot of action last week against the new england patriots and i really thought just watching the tape of the game it was as quick as i've seen him in a couple of years you can see that he's just completely amped up for this his first start so far this season and when jerome bettis gets running downhill it is a major headache for those guys in the secondary gotta be working with fresh legs came into this game with only 52 carries on the year roethlisberger as it batted into the air and it's incomplete as senator hardings was there to just make sure nobody was waiting for the deflection here's the defense for the eagles javon curse has made the difference six sacks and the group as a whole with 25 on the season to lead the nfl the linebackers and then the secondary and they have locked up their two young cornerbacks lido shepard and sheldon brown to multi-year contracts this group under the direction of defensive coordinator jim johnson [Music] and jerome bettis is collared at the 40 about half a yard shy of a first down well that's the side of the offensive line of this pittsburgh steeler offense wants to run the ball behind allen fanica they're all pro left guard along with marvel smith we see the job that he's doing as far as shielding the inside and giving jerome bettis a lane to run up inside obviously philadelphia has had problems stopping the run they've come out here today and they're struggling with it as well [Applause] and now the first decision for the pittsburgh steelers is the ball rests just outside the philadelphia 40. and prior to this game that was the area where jerome bettis had been used mostly mostly in short yardage along with goal line situations big strong physical back does a good job of moving the pile not surprising to me to see pittsburgh going for it here this early in the game yeah i agree max starks comes in as another tight end so six offensive linemen in now for the steelers [Applause] number six on the all-time nfl rushing yardage list and the 32 year old has had a fast start to this game against the eagles and i think this is just a statement by bill cower that he said i know philadelphia is weak against the run they haven't been able to stop anybody this season we have jerome bettis we have a great offensive line that dominated the world champion new england patriots a week ago we're going to show you right up front that you can't stop us [Applause] well i know right now joe if you're a quarterback coming into this game as ben roethlisberger is and you're facing the philadelphia eagles and you're so concerned about the blitz packages that jim johnson likes to employ the best way to defeat that one is to be able to run the football two to stay out of third long situations they've done that here in this first possession [Music] [Applause] only two throws from big ben so far in this opening that was sam rayburn who was just signed to a long-term deal over the weekend and he celebrates and rewards the eagles with a big sack and a loss of eight the eagles that time came with a blitz right up the gut and it's going to draw the block away so sam rayburn is going to come free on the outside just a mistake up front that time by the pittsburgh steelers and this is what philadelphia defensively has been able to do all year long yes they give up runs big runs in the running game but then they make a play when a team starts penetrating to get them into third long and then play well on third down conversions this will be a blitz by philadelphia coming on third and 13. penalty flag on the plane roethlisberger picks up enough yardage for a first down but will check the marker and the indication is it's against philadelphia [Applause] bill carollo is our referee illegal contact 24 defense while the quarterback was in the pocket five yard penalty from the end of the run first yeah down talk about ben roethlisberger and his composure in the pocket they're wanting to run a little bit of a double move on the inside they cover it up and then he's got great mobility for a guy his size sheldon brown the corner for philadelphia that got called for the illegal contact down the field 16-yard run is the longest for roethlisberger in this stint he is 5-0 as a starter the nfl record for a rookie starting out 6-0 mike cruza back in 76 for the steelers playing for an injured terry bradshaw they hand it to ward on an end around heinz ward trying to pick his way for the touchdown hugh douglas read this one perfectly he's out in open space but simply cannot get heinz ward on the ground and then plexico burris taking care of his fellow wide receiver with a key block down the field to spring him for the touchdown fanuca was out there in front of it as well [Applause] reed makes it seven and nothing exactly what bill coward told pam oliver just before kickoff running the ball getting the home crowd into it they're into it and the steelers into the end zone up seven [Music] fox nfl sunday is brought to you by southwest airlines proud sponsor of the nfl and official airline of super bowl 39 don't forget on that opening possession drive and touchdown for the steelers it was capped on the run by ward his first career rushing touchdown 16 yards but how about the 16-yard run by ben roethlisberger on third and 13 to set it up running game impressive 71 rushing yards on that opening drive reed kicks it away and it's dexter win now returning kicks not on that one well in this year of he stole my dance heinz ward has one for t.o we'll see if he gets a chance to have an answer fox nfl sunday is brought to you by budweiser grab a cold fresh budweiser it's game time [Applause] he looks awfully calm for a 22 year old rookie quarterback out of miami of ohio 5-0 as a starter with the steelers just another day at the office for him pittsburgh up seven he just doesn't know any better mcnabb starts with the throw and it's his tan and lewis and chad is forced out of bounds after a gain of four brian westbrook is available today the philadelphia eagles started that first play with dorsey levins behind this offensive line anchored by the center hank fraley old honey buns went to robert morris and at one point was a free agent pickup and then cut by the pittsburgh steelers westbrook is in second and six westbrook gets it makes a move brought down by townsend after a gain of three the defense for pittsburgh fifth best in the nfl and they play a 3-4 and by now the eagles are used to facing a 3-4 they really miss casey hampton the nose tackle chris hope fourth year players at that spot the linebackers and then the secondary townsend and willie williams the veteran 34 year old making a second start in place of the injured chad scott third and four a slow start off the ball for the eagles and donovan mcnabb goes down likes to present a lot of different looks they overload this right side they're going to show blitz the eagles actually do a pretty good job picking it up and then they just let larry foote go up inside and donovan mcnabb unable to escape the rush as tom brady learned a week ago this is a tough team to try and throw the football against johnson punts it taking on a hop by antoine randall l why not try this side gets a block good pursuit by the eagles in what looked to be a chance for a big return by antoine randlell goes for a return of six yards big ben back to work donovan mcnabb will stand and watch steelers up seven for today it is a 300 mile stretch we had that quick shot of the map it said everywhere surrounding the state of pennsylvania is just the rest of the world a matchup between the steelers and the eagles the stadium actually on the near side of the river as you cross into the city of pittsburgh pennsylvania and there's a throw to plexigo burris and a gain of 13 yards for another steeler first down you know it almost makes you laugh joe i mean it's i said before you this kid doesn't even know what he's doing and i really believe to some extent that's true i mean nobody comes in the national football league wins five in a row stands there against the philadelphia eagles defense with all their exotic looks and just drops back and throws the ball with ease in there he's really been amazing thus far and jerome bettis gets back to the line of scrimmage how about during the warm-ups here's the 22 year old going around and shaking the hands of the guys who are helping to make him a star the thing about it joe is this he's really a young quarterback he should really be now playing his senior season if miami of ohio did not have a lot of play in time in high school one year as a quarterback but he has shown tremendous maturity as far as the way he's handled himself with his football team and has earned the respect of these veteran players [Applause] the eagles yell out run it is a run and they stop venice in the backfield a loss of three well now you're starting to see the philadelphia eagles and jim johnson with their answer which it always is when they get in trouble and that's bringing the blitz down that time brian dawkins from his safety position coming down jim johnson was telling us yesterday he said as long as they just have small runs i don't care between the 20s i don't care about that we're going to give that up if they start to gouge us a little bit dawkins will come down michael lewis will come down and we'll try and stop it the best we can another third and 13 for the steelers looking for a little daylight throws on the run and has a first down completion he gets haynes out of the backfield and another conversion on third and 13 for a big bend well this time philadelphia only rushes four and as a result it gives ben rothfuss a chance to escape the rush and one of the things that he has done very well all season long is moving to his left and still being able to throw the ball across his body this time he finds veron haynes working against dahani jones and that's not an easy throw for a quarterback to make ben roethlisberger has made it look easy time and time again up the guts and jerome bettis picked up nine and a half and may depend on the spot as to whether he got enough for a first down a trotter on the stops excuse me joe i've really enjoyed watching this pittsburgh steeler offensive line they were so dominant a week ago but you see guys jeff harding's their center allen fanuca the pro bowl and all pro left guard really the heart and soul of this offensive line and allen fanika you hear guys that get a lot of hype and sometimes don't live up to it he's the best guard i've seen this season [Applause] you know guys they talk about the defensive scheming of bill belichick in last week it was the steelers snapping the 21-game winning streak by the patriots but at some point new england didn't have ty long early in that game and you've got to back off some of the blitz if you don't have law out there in coverage now you've got these two young corners that the eagles obviously love so this is going to be even more of a test against a good blitzing scheme for roethlisberger as he works on first down play action roethlisberger fires and it's off the hands of his fullback kreider you know one of the areas where ben roethlisberger has struggled a little bit is when his first guy's open he's very effective in dropping back and throwing the ball here he's looking for plexico bursts on the outside they've got a rolled safety over the top it's not there and as you'll watch ben roethlisberger he wants to throw it and him trying to process going to the second and third receivers has been somewhat difficult for him as we just saw and that's an area where he'll continue to get better at it look at that protection though he was back there about five seconds and nobody laid a finger on second down and ten haynes cuts it up to the 20. [Applause] there's so many great things to watch with the pittsburgh steelers and the way they run the football but one thing they really do a tremendous job of is cutting off backside linebackers watch allen fanica the left guard come out here and really effectively take two now there's no pursuit that's going to come over from the backside and be able to make that play of the eagles is down it's corey simon the defensive tackle training staff looking at him pittsburgh faced with a third down when we come back nfl sunday is brought to you by the new ford 500 built for the road ahead by hp services and technology help companies face manage and love change by the new singular raising the bar and by miller there's good enough and there's better than it has to be miller good call third down and four from the philadelphia 20. [Applause] roethlisberger fires he gets it to ward and heinz ward has his second of the day you're going to see heinz ward go in motion it's not something pittsburgh wanted to do a lot of they did not want to confuse the looks for ben roethlisberger but by doing so they're able to outflank sheldon brown he misses the tackle and then it's on into the end zone i have no idea what sheldon brown was doing it was in man coverage you could tell by the motion that he was in man coverage and that's the reason they did the double motion and then they just simply was frozen on the play and didn't cover him out in the flat whistles and flags before the extra point offense five yard penalty replay the try so sheldon brown it was just rewarded with a contract that will run through 2012. the seven and a half million dollar bonus is the one beaten on that play for the touchdown and heinz ward actually has more catches over the last three and a half years than tara owens and you saw owens react on the sideline while heinz got a chance to rub it in his face again but you know what's really been interesting is that lexico burroughs since ben roethlisberger has come in has really been the go-to guy and heinz warren today has been the one did you see the wind take that out of there so ward gets his second he's run one in one on a pass reception heinz ward doing his thing tara owens well i know this heinz ward has made a lot of steeler fans smile today and he's made ray lewis smile today somewhere wherever he is smiling at the notion of heinz ward doing that little celebratory eagle flap in the end zone and this has been the longest yeah there's no doubt about that the largest deficit the eagles have faced all season long pretty reminiscent of what the steelers did last week to the patriots jumping up on them 21-3 in the first quarter dexter win gets a chance to return this one and win is held up at the 24. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] it's a 14 to nothing steeler lead the eagles just trying to get their feet underneath him back to work [Music] they knocked off the undefeated new england patriots last week snapped their 21-game winning streak and now against their intra state rival philadelphia eagles they have taken it to him a 14 to nothing lead here in the first quarter you're watching fox sports broadcasting in 720p the world's finest high-definition standard and dolby 5.1 [Applause] i think dick lebeau will be dialing up some blitzes for donovan mcnabb penalty flag before the snap prior to the snap false start 82 offense 5-yard penalty replay first down you can just tell the eagles look uncomfortable right now they have not been in this position they've been basically ahead the entire season 80 percent of the time this season they've been ahead only about 10 minutes the entire year they've been behind and this is going to get a lot more uncomfortable when dick lebeaus starts dialing up these defenses it takes a doctorate degree to try and figure this stuff out they stay with it on the ground and the handoff is to levins a gain of three let's check in with jeannie zalasco for a game break well joe fourth and inches in miami the dolphins going for the big payoff and so is rob conrad 20 yard touchdown reception miami missed the extra point they still have the 9-3 lead over arizona all right jeanne thank you signed bill grammatica got three kickers on their roster second down and 12. blitz mcnabb in trouble wants to air it out owens is the intended receiver and everybody is overthrown running with him was willie williams yeah that time they got the one-on-one outside on terrell owens with willie williams and willie williams just stays on top but at that time donovan mcnabb had to move around a little bit was late getting the ball up daddy has been able to step up in the pocket he might have had a shot chris and carol owen stopped on the play you know i mean if he doesn't stop on that play donald mcnabb launched that one about 60 yards in the air and maybe t.o just didn't believe he could throw it that far well i think he slowed down thinking donovan was caught in traffic back in the pocket not an excuse to slow down third down and 12. blitz coming eagles pick it up and the pass is short and mcnabb's arm may have been hit when he let it go pressure by willie williams who wasn't winded after running with owens oh that time they bring willie williams on the corner blitz and drop some people underneath the route so even though you would think you're going to get one-on-one with lanes to throw still nowhere to go with the ball with donovan mcnabb dick lebeau doing a terrific job once again defensing this offense and if andy reid wants to throw the ball you better start getting it out there a little bit quicker you don't have that kind of time against this defense [Applause] johnson punts it up into the wind and it's antoine randall l going nowhere keith adams was down field to make the stop only a one-yard return next week on fox it's week 10 in the early matchups the seahawks and the rams that should be a good one for the nfc west the bucks and falcons late the vikings and the packers the packs back in it the vikings are sliding back toward the pack they have a date with indianapolis on monday night and they'll be playing that game without randy moss and who would have thought when green bay got off to a 1-4 start that this game would have so much significance two possessions two touchdowns for pittsburgh [Applause] roethlisberger with all day lets it fly burris incomplete and it's michael lewis the safety back there defending for the eagles and that one's on ben roethlisberger joe he had plexico burris on the corner route he's going to start on the left of the formation but he's working across the field and if ben roethlisberger is able to get that ball out clearly had michael lewis beat couldn't tell if he got his arm hit javon curse who has made such a difference with the pass rush here and i think he got it out just really didn't have an opportunity to step into that [Applause] got a big hit fought for a couple extra yards got five and i think that's what we're seeing from jerome bettis already early in this game is he's keeping his feet moving and he's picking up an extra yard or two every time he runs with the football and you know so much talk about how they got away from the running game last year and it really started at the end of 2002 when tommy maddox came in and played very well they went to a lot of the three wide formation stuff started throwing the ball last year due to the injuries and also because of them wanting to throw the football more they got away from what had won them a lot of games deuce staley arriving has put the run back in the offense curse came across early roethlisberger back across the middle of the field the tourman is tight end incomplete and this one is against philadelphia yeah it looks like they got the cheap five yards on third down so give the quarterback a little credit and ben took a shot in the throat it looks like defense number 93 five yard penalty it'll give them a first down but troy i think the most impressive thing that i've seen out of ben roethlisberger is a is ability to move within the pocket and create passing opportunities but b when he's running to his left which is a very difficult throw his ability to reach back and get plenty of zip on the ball and make that throw not a lot of guys can do that one i think that combined with the fact that he just does not make mistakes typical of rookie quarterbacks he's been able to avoid that reset the game clock to 26 seconds correction 27 seconds ben roethlisberger is only three of the last four games has not had an interception very impressive he's almost brady s in that regard in comparison to a younger tom brady a lot more fair and accurate than all these comparisons to mourinho 27 seconds left in the first quarter and it's betis trying the left side for three well the good thing about roethlisberger as well is the fact that he actually earned the respect of his teammates they didn't give him the job he only got the opportunity to play because of the injury to tommy maddox the steelers for another weekend electrifying and exciting these great pittsburgh steeler fans the end of the first quarter pittsburgh 14 philadelphia nothing heinz ward with two touchdowns today it's been all pittsburgh after one quarter the nfl on fox continues after this first quarter stats a total of three yards for the philadelphia eagles time of possession dominated by pittsburgh 93 rushing yards second down with the ball inside eagle [Applause] territory [Applause] looks quick today doesn't he that was supposed to be a play you could see the stretch play coming the offensive linemen were all trying to get the outside cornered off and all of a sudden jerome bettis just made a sharp cut back to the inside and when 255 pounds makes a sharp cut and runs down that hill it is intimidating first down from the philadelphia [Applause] bounces it and jerome venice is brought down just shy a first down yardage he got eight well that's just unbelievable right now the job that this offensive line is doing up front and then of course jerome bettis being able to see the holes they start the stretch play and then he takes it up the field and you're right chris for a guy his size the moves that he's able to make he gets people leaning one way and he's able to cut on a dime and get back underneath and get going north and south he has shown i think the fact that he's been limited in his carries he's got fresh legs second [Applause] the running backs on this team and they're certainly talented but you will not find in the national football league a bigger hole than what allen fanica and jeff hardings and kedrick vincent just created there watch the gap that they are going to be able to run through find a hole that big in the national football league i've never seen one that is monstrous [Applause] roethlisberger a sack and that's the second of the day by rayburn [Applause] sam rayburn a free agent out of tulsa last year really made an impression in this year he now has five sacks and as we said earlier a new long-term deal yeah and it looks like it's more and more justified as we move through this game he's the only guy making any plays for this defense in this one he's able to get through the line he keeps on fighting and that's really the type of player that he is not an overly talented guy but tough and physical and plays hard you know darwin walker and corey simon they've yet to get any pressure up the middle give a little credit to hollis thomas on that play he really made that one on second down more pressure they drop off a screen haynes haynes down to the five what a great call by ken wisenhut they've been giving him trouble with pressure over here on this side okay sam rayburn you want to bring some pressure bring it on dump it right over the top big pickup on the screen pass great job by left guard allen fannika getting out in front pittsburgh over the years under bill under bill cower has been one of the better screen teams in the national football league set up very nicely getting right in behind his blockers [Applause] and with a play clock winding down roethlisberger takes the first time out of the afternoon pittsburgh up 14 and looking for more fox nfl sunday is brought to you by the new chevrolets 10 new cars and trucks in 20 months in american revolution by verizon wireless we never stop working for you by visa proud sponsor of the nfl get ready for the game and by bristol myers squibb company hope triumph in the miracle of medicine first and goal here from the five yard line joe don't be surprised typically this is a run down but what the pittsburgh steelers have shown in recent weeks they've put the ball in ben roethlisberger's hands and have allowed him to throw in these situations [Applause] first [Applause] this has been jerome's specialty this season he's down to the two eight for eight situations inside the five getting the ball into the end zone is bettis you know throwing it's probably a good idea against the patriots and their great run defense i think against the philadelphia eagles they've found an easier path especially against some of these smaller defensive ends that the philadelphia eagles have they've really been exploiting them 78 guys 78 over there now they do keep it with roethlisberger throws back and gets the touchdown reemer's muff last night that they like to move ben roethlisberger out on the edges it minimizes his mistakes he's going to run here it looked like everything was caught up you're going to see jay rezmerzma he's going to pull up it looked like it was covered as he's going to the corner you see him there jeremiah trotter had him jay pulls up jeremiah trotter loses him great job roethlisberger finding him in the end zone and it makes up for the one that roethlisberger missed last week to jay reamers but which was wide open reimersma showed how to get rid of a guy across from you when you're headed for the end zone looking for a touchdown reception roethlisberger rolling to his right throwing back to his left and deuce staley the long time eagle having fun today in pittsburgh 21-0 steelers [Music] this looked like to the rest of the world a pretty even match-up coming in and then you hear that deuce staley is not going to be available for the steelers today and you think well tip the balance in favor of the eagles but this has been a complete domination on the part of the pittsburgh steelers over the eagles and this is a big possession coming up for philadelphia and there's a mistake maybe the first of the day by the steelers is jeff reed kicks it out of bounds and the eagles will have it starting at their own 40. let's go down to pam oliver hey joe how about that ben roethlisberger he came off the field and he took some congrats and then he went back out on the field why because he wanted to personally thank each and every one of his offensive linemen he followed that up by going from one end of the bench to the other personally congratulating everybody who was responsible for their success today he's a leader in a lot of ways he may be young but he's certainly a leader so far joe well not only is he a great talent but he's also got some smarts and he's got a future career with hallmark you learned that one early go congratulate those big guys from the 40 on first down they hand off that's westbrook picking up eight how important guys is this possession for the eagles well they just have to get at least the first down thus far in the game 15 first down for the steelers and zero for the philadelphia eagles and this prolific offensive there so you've got to turn to your quarterback now donovan mcnabb is a guy that has carried them through t.o has been the other one to get this offense on track you've got to go to your stars right now to start making plays second down and two pass is complete that's the tight end lj smith and he's got the first philadelphia first down a gain of 10. [Applause] i like that throw a much quicker throw i thought early in the game the first two drives they were trying to go those seven step drops and sit back and hold the ball and i can tell you i used to play on the bengals team where dick lambeau is the defensive coordinator you're taking seven steps drops you're playing right into his strength not much there gain of one [Music] well in philadelphia they're trying to get something going in the run game a little bit but there just hasn't been a whole lot there i know in the middle you got chris hoke who's making his second nfl start for casey hampton the pro bowl player and they were a little bit concerned they didn't get tested in the run game last week they didn't expect to get tested here today but he's holding up very well and they're on the nose tackle [Applause] four man rush mcnabb fires it's caught that's pinkston and todd slips out of bounds with a first down you know todd pinkston received a lot of attention last year in the championship game for all the wrong reasons really um from me okay i'll admit it he didn't play very well couldn't get off the line of scrimmage they physically beat him up in that game he's not a very big guy but the one thing that you've seen out of todd pinkston is he's not a bad number two guy he's not a number one receiver and i think that became obvious but now with owens in the lineup he's done a pretty good job as a number two guy underwent an mri this week a bone bruise in his right knee and it's kimo von olhofen claiming that he was drawn [Applause] offside who's right encroachment 67 defense five-yard penalty first down kimo does not agree [Applause] sorry joe you go back to that kickoff now with the ball starting out on the 40-yard line philadelphia picking up a few first downs and here they are in scoring territory and obviously their best possession of the day owens shut out over the middle that's lewis and chad lewis has another eagle first down just inside the 19-yard line you know bill cower told us that one of the best defenses against tara owens is just trying to frustrate him they're rolling his way willie williams is on him but there's the post corner move and he thought he had a chance if donovan mcnabb had been able to stick with him just a little bit longer of course chad lewis working over the middle of the field and his play is certainly elevated with the presence of tara owens this year he's drawn to double coverage and that's allowed chad lewis to work the inside without a lot of bodies blitz coming eagles pick it up and the pass is behind owens and that's really one of the ways that you get the ball to an elite receiver when he's facing double coverage you run the slant routes you run the crossing routes there are ways to get the ball into his hands they had an opportunity here you just got to deliver a better throw terrell owens running the slam of course donovan mcnabb a guy coming untouched right up the gut and that guy was kendrell bell who's coming back after the sports hernia operation and kendrell bell has a way of getting the quarterbacks quicker than most linebackers in this game especially when they're not blocked on second down and 10. they handed westbrook third and long coming up after a gain of one there's kendrell bell of course exploded on the scene his rookie season and really has been bothered by injuries for the last couple of years and as soon as the pa announcer announced his name he got a nice war from the crowd he just adds another element of speed to this defense that's already so fast with joey porter and clark higgins and james ferrier third and ninth another blitz mcnabb throws underneath and it's polamalu on the stop of owens a gain of only one and here's where you get hurt joe when the ball's not out in front of a wide receiver and you allow him to run after the catch that's where terrell owens is most effective they got polamalu on terrell owens he's got a step on him but the ball's got to be out in front of him so he can keep running and not lose stride the ball's behind him and as a result polamalu was able to come up and make the tackle that polamallo is one heck of a young player though a guy that runs about a 4-4-40 from the safety position almost unheard of and he packs them all up as well 33-yard try and the eagles wanted seven they get three thanks to david akers so owens gets that first catch he has one yard and the lead is now 18 for the steelers fox nfl sunday is brought to you by cadillac and the all-new sts breakthrough [Music] cheryl owens and his frustration boiling over a bit on the sideline and i think there was just as much frustration on the part of number five donovan mcnabb maybe even more so and for this undefeated eagles team we haven't really seen this side of the terrell owens dynamic that will show you after the kickoff owens was relentless in chasing donovan mcnabb down the sideline mcnabb wanted no part of hearing from terre haute coakley on the return slides down after he crossed the 20. and here is that scene on the sideline after the field goal by acres there had to be about a 30 or 40 second stretch here where carol owens was trying to tell donovan mcnabb i'm open throw me the ball when it's one on one or whatever it was he's trying to say but at some point it's pretty obvious troy your quarterback doesn't want to hear it just shut up well yeah shut up get away from him donovan knows that he had a couple opportunities there and didn't capitalize on and the last thing you want is for anybody not even a coach or a player you don't want anybody talking to you he's frustrated too on first down gain of three sheldon brown on the tackle you go back to that last possession by philadelphia being able to move the football had success doing that but unable to get a touchdown and only having to settle for a field goal that's pretty big when you're talking about a pittsburgh steelers offense that so far this eagles team has not been able to slow down and defensively now the eagles have to make a play they have to make a stop here to give their offense a chance to cut into this lead second down and seven handoff is to pettis pushes the pile just across the 30. gain of five you look at the first three possessions for the pittsburgh steelers started at their own 20 11 plays touchdown their own 36. nine plays in a touchdown then the throw to riemersma after starting at their own 38 10 plays 62 yards covered third down and two roethlisberger finds his favorite target of the day heinz ward and ward getting extra yards picked up 12. well here's what happens they go hinds ward he's going to go in motion across here and rodrick hood is going to be man-to-man on him going across the formation once they get to that position it now gives heinz ward the ability to run the crossing route and rod hood gets caught up in the traffic and that's how ben roethlisberger is able to get him the ball right now ken wisenhunt is doing a terrific job of mixing things up giving different looks anticipating man coverage and calling the right plays to defeat him venice again that was ike reese the linebacker in on the tackle a gain of one you know this is i believe the same score that they had against new england a week ago 21-3 but this is an entirely different ball game in that one they had an interception return for a touchdown they had a fumble they had some different things that happened this has been a bludgeoning so far this has been taking the football and ramming it down the throats of the philadelphia eagles and ken wisenhood has just done a spectacular job calling this game steelers do a good job to pick it up it's burris and back is dawkins there's the play that this eagles defense needed to make and it's their team leader on the defense brian dawkins with the interception that's his first of the season and a 32-yard return at the end of it to give the eagles good field position well the eagles come with pressure off the front the pittsburgh steelers do a good job of anticipating it max protected block it up and it's the first time that i've seen roethlisberger force a ball into coverage and it's his fifth interception this season [Applause] he shakes hands after touchdowns he shakes hands after interceptions my guess is he's probably saying my bad guys my bad that's on me we'll get it back the eagles down by 18. mcnabb fires and he gets it to terrell owens we saw that play out over on the sideline between terrell owens and donovan mcnabb but who knows what's being said there in that situation but i thought it was impressive on the part of donovan mcnabb and the kind of leader that he is that he didn't turn around and wheel on terrell owens and do something that would have made headlines and been an ugly situation over on that sideline you can talk about a lot of strengths of donovan mcnabb mobility his arm strength top of that list is his leadership second down and seven and the pass is complete brought down a yard shy of a first down as owens so well now you know why receivers get in the face of quarterbacks on the sidelines right comes out gets two straight passes but i think a great adjustment here by andy reid they were having some trouble picking up the blitzes from the steelers so they come back now they're going to the three-step drops the five-step drops getting the ball out quickly and it's forcing the steelers to sit back now because when teams get in that mode the pressure simply doesn't have time to get there we are coming up on the two-minute warning and it appears that we will get there [Music] we're there philadelphia with three timeouts remaining the ball is sitting at their own 47 trying to make it a little closer before halftime the philadelphia eagles are 7-0 best start in franchise history they're down 21-3 to the pittsburgh steelers two minutes left in the half and we look at steve schuller taking the place of the injured jermaine mayberry who's out with a strain in his left calf this is a huge third and two for the eagles at their own 47. blitz philadelphia picks it up out of the backfield it's westbrook what a play by ferrier and joe that's really what you want they bring the blitz up inside they pick it up they get the ball into one of their best players hands one on one with ferrier more times than not westbrook's going to make that guy miss and he was going to pick up big yard great play by ferrier bringing westbrook to the ground in the open field and you can see from that shot look at all the open field had he been able to shake james ferrier the captain of this defense what a spectacular open field tackle that makes the decision very easy for the eagles on fourth and long they punt it and it's antoine randall l taking it in inside his own tent which is usually a no-no but he is out of bounds after a 10-yard return they'll mark him the steeler 16. absolutely a dream scenario to get your best player in the open field brian westbrook one on one and look at all the space in front of him one quick move there if he gets around farrier that is a big big play and they had a good call on eagle's anticipated man coverage they had freddie mitchell coming across they could have used him as a natural pick on james ferrier they didn't get the pick and as a result ferrier was there to make the play the eagles the eagles have yet to convert a third down here in the first half a minute three remaining pittsburgh two timeouts left starting from their own sixteen and they hand to betis and they may be content with a 21-3 lead well and i would say they would be as well joe go back to last week against the patriots with 45 seconds left in the game on their own 35 or in the half up 14 points they put the ball in roethlisberger's hands and they let him try to go down the field with some more points obviously as they're running this thing down now but they have not been afraid to let ben roethlisberger go into the no huddle and try to come away with points in these situations i gotta tell you i'm a little surprised they didn't use a timeout there philadelphia trying to get this ball back maybe they just don't think they can stop them dan rooney has to be awfully proud with what he sees out in front of him today 17 seconds and counting and this crowd is loving every second of this stay tuned for the visa halftime show genie zolasko and terrell davis that is coming your way what a first half it was for big ben and ben roethlisberger leading this steelers team handing it off to jerome bettis who had a big first half against philadelphia ward two touchdowns reamers for the other all pittsburgh after one half of play back after this [Applause] while a lot of these steeler fans in pittsburgh today look ahead wondering if their team could end up in jacksonville for the super bowl they honor some of the game's greatest players and some of the greatest dealers ever the 1979 pittsburgh steelers it's the 25th anniversary and look at some of these names mean joe green john stallworth lynn swann our own terry bradshaw mvp of that super bowl game so a special moment here at halftime second half between the eagles and the steelers coming up a 21-3 steeler lead will return after this [Music] 21-3 at the half start of the third quarter is just around the corner we look at these statistics obviously dominated by the pittsburgh steelers 140 yards on the ground so the troubles for the eagles stopping the run continue time of possession the total yards chris circles only 47 for the eagles who come in 7-0 for the latest in fantasy stats log on to foxsports.com who do you have of this group if you have heinz ward congratulations two touchdowns one through the air one on the ground and i think uh so far guys you look at the score being what it is it has to at least be a shock that it's been this dominating an effort by the steelers to this point well it is a shock yeah i don't think anybody could have anticipated it coming in so now the question is what happens here in the second half and if you're philadelphia you have to be able to stop the run regardless of whether it's a 10 yard run or a 4 yard run right now if you go back to last week and what pittsburgh was able to do against new england they just pounded the ball on them in the second half and they had no answer for it that and you look at the eagles on offense and i think that's probably the biggest surprise of this game thus far yes i knew the steelers were a good defense coming in here but who would have expected this offense with all these weapons to end up with 47 yards at the half i would not and you can't help but be impressed with ben roethlisberger tara owens got into the act a little bit at the end of the first half but so far only three catches for 11 yards he has not been a factor we got a chance to look at that 79 team and i know uh the guy i'm 35 years old here what 37. chris we won't even tell thanks i hope you are but for a guy growing up in st louis where i grew up when you first started to fall in love with the nfl on a grander scale than the team that was playing down the street and believe me in st louis we didn't have much to cheer you look at this team and the guys like swan and stallworth and bradshaw and franco harris and rocky flyer i mean that steel curtain defense that's the way i fell in love with a game of football well let me tell you the team that's being honored here today this 1979 team super bowl 14 against the los angeles rams i grew up in california i was actually a big rams fan vince faragama was the quarterback of that team i was absolutely heartbroken when the rams failed to win that game but what a great dynasty this steeler team had four super bowls in six years 14 fourth quarter points the victory and the mvp of that super bowl against the rams bradshaw nice return for the eagles out across the 30 knocked down at the 32 is roderick hood and let's go down to pam oliver all right joe bill cower on keeping the philadelphia eagles on their heels he said the best defense for them today has been their running game he says we got to stay aggressive with that and we can't get away from it meanwhile for for the philadelphia eagles andy reid opted not to talk to us at this time back to you all right pam thanks i bet you had something to say at halftime though let's see how the eagles come out west brook his biggest run of the day brian westbrook out of bounds of the first down at the philadelphia 45. and for me westbrook really has to be the x factor here in the second half of this game we've seen brian westbrook literally take games over he's explosive he has big play capability they're obviously going to focus on terrell owens in the passing game here being this far ahead but westbrook is a guy if you get him in the open field he can create some instant offense and open things up for t.o and the other guys he's the home run hitter well that's not eagles missed last week he is joe but let's not forget he is playing injured he has the rib injury a bruise to the area was questionable throughout the week as to whether or not he was going to be able to play how effective and how much can he carry the load west brook will try to right side this time and he has swallowed up a loss of one aaron smith was the first one to get there well aaron smith according to dick lebeau is the best kept secret in the national football league he said there is not a more consistent guy week in and week out that just keeps making plays and nobody talks about you know a 3-4 end is not exactly like a 4-3 in where you get to be on the end of the line of scrimmage you're down there with the guards and the tight ends and everybody beating on you and aaron smith with five sides just three short of his career high already second down and 11. mcnabb over the middle for westbrook they're gonna mark him down at the 49-yard line or just inside midfield into pittsburgh territory a gain of six third down coming up for philadelphia yeah and third down is the area that they're having problems and when you get into games like this every third down becomes very very critical in order to keep possessions alive to go down and get points right now at third and five they're opening possession of the second half big play in this game they hand off west brook it goes nowhere lost yardage awfully conservative against this pittsburgh steelers defense and it was westbrook westbrook westbrook westbrook and now a punt not only conservative but watch the slants they guessed right dick lebeau has been calling a masterful game thus far at the snap of the ball everybody jetted out to the left side and made the play i got to tell you i don't question calls often but in third and five i'm surprised trying to run the ball in that situation for a first down when they had not been able to do anything on the previous runs johnson a line drive punt into the win and antoine randall with those great hands picks it up they will not throw a flag as ike reese out of bounds wrapped up l after a return of three yards so antoine randall l got this little surprise on the boundary from reece steelers hold on their first defensive effort fox nfl sunday is brought to you by southwest airlines proud sponsor of the nfl and official airline of super bowl 39. ben roethlisberger and this steelers offense so impressive in the first half [Applause] starting with it at their own 14-yard line it's venice who creeping up on a 100-yard day gains three on that first carry well right now i think it's time for this defense to step up for so many years this organization this football team has been built around the play see jerome bettis lost his shoe but this defense has been built around the play around their defense and so far today they've not been able to step up they're as deep as they've been in quite some time they've got healthy bodies and yet pittsburgh's been able to dominate them throughout this game [Music] he picked up two over the left side you think about cardi said the name russ grimm fourth year as the offensive line coach obviously a long time washington a very athletic guy when he played for joe gibbs he was gibbs emergency quarterback there and the job that he's done putting this group together they lost kendall simmons vincent has done well at right guard ross has played right tackle and starks is starting to creep in there their third round pick from florida [Applause] third down and five another four man washington up to get it for a first down wow that's really a difference right there between these two football teams flexico burris a big guy six foot five 230 pounds and ben roethlisberger just simply took advantage of the size differential he intentionally threw that ball high i talked to lido shepherd he says i know they do that against me i know they're going to try and put some up in the air and just let plexigo try and out jump me that time for a huge first down and that's one of the reasons why they put lido shepard on him was because they thought he could be more physical due to the size but flexico burst clearly gets the advantage on that pass a little better here at the start of the second half by this philadelphia defensive line a gain of three by jerome does flexico burst remind you a little bit of javon walker from the packers and the a guy that it seems like the light is going on and he's making big plays and he's stretching the defenses and scoring those long touchdowns at their offense so desperately needs he's a terrific player and then you look at ben roethlisberger he's third in the nfl on third down passing and that's been a big difference in this game their ability to convert on third down blitz coming on second and seven and the steelers run right into it with betis no gain on the play another third down coming up for pittsburgh and the one thing that we've seen out of pittsburgh so far is that every time they end up in these third longs they end up converting friend roethlisberger ran the one for the big first down they just came back to the play to plexico burst this historically has been the strength of this eagles defense third and long when they can blitz well i think a lot of it has to do with the fact that ben roethlisberger almost exclusively played from the shotgun in college and on third downs is when he gets the opportunity to do that here in this offense eagles showing blitz and they come routelessburger fires and it's boris lexico boris drops the football and they're gonna mark him out of bounds with a first down just inside the 22-yard line of the philadelphia eagles but what an incredible route by plexico burris i thought he was going deep on the go and so did who was that lido shepherd he thought he was going to the outside and jumped to the inside and then by hot dog and then carrying one hand he cost himself a touchdown lexico burst running the skinny post the corner squatted on the route and yet plexigo burst still able to get inside and make the catch and what a weapon when you're talking about a guy that size 6-4 can run like the wind has great leaping ability and he's really coming to his own this year they said last year about the last five games he finally started to get it the light went on before he went out of bounds first down pittsburgh the light went on for him at the end of last season it's continued throughout the off season his work habits and he's having a great season throughout the first seven eight games we've also seen the eagles now with all kinds of different attacks trying to get after them on third down that time they came with the blitz and ben roethlisberger just as he did last week against the patriots and bill belichick makes them pay a big price for blitzing 47-yard play by the end of it first down a hand to bellis jerome bettis with a big day down to the 15-yard line and one of the eagles is down and injured back the area where roethlisberger handed it off [Applause] it looks like cory simon joe corey simon who is a guy who was a free agent to be all these eagles at the philadelphia club starting to lock up simon's not on the list yet he is down and injured [Music] fox nfl sunday is brought to you by gmc trucks and suvs we are professional grade second down for pittsburgh second down and four with the ball at the eagles 15-yard line simon popped up and got off the field under his own power and venice was tripped up in the backfield no game go back to the entry to corey simon and marvel smith the tackle is going to make a really heads up play blocking nate wayne here wayne's going to try and go by inside smith's going to take him and drive him right back into corey simon and that's when the injury occurred kind of tough to tell exactly what it was steelers here facing another third down and i know last week plexico burst was very happy with them throwing the fade route to him he's got oh there he goes back out wide but he's got single coverage i wouldn't all be surprised to see him take advantage of the size advantage that he has this time it's not shepard and sheldon brown across from him bled's coming and the ball is knocked free they're going to call it an incomplete pass the arm was coming forward and that's the call on the field by corolla alice thomas coming through unblocked essentially when you try and send somebody in every gap essentially eventually somebody's going to make a play and hollis thomas this time just shooting right through there nobody gets a finger on him and troy you called it exactly they were trying to go to the fade that's one of the few times this offensive line has turned people loose inside they've done a good job of forcing pressure off the edges and not giving clean shots up over the center gaps jeff reed is eight of 11 field goal department he'll try a 33-yarder and push it so the eagles are hanging in there still down by 18 as they get it back with seven and a half left in the third quarter could not ask for a better day here on the 7th of november crystal clear blue skies there's a little bit of wind for these players to try and handle and the eagles get it back after the 33-yard miss mcnabb has time and he finds his tight end lewis big completion of 21 yards to chad lewis yeah and you're going to see troy pull them all out he's right here he's coming up he anticipates run he realizes off the play action that it's pass and they bring chad lewis then in behind him good call there on the play action getting the safety to fight up opening up some throwing lanes in behind him mcnabb back across the middle of the field and incomplete with tara owens wide open really was joe they had a great opportunity there we saw donovan mcnabb miss high a few times to begin the game last week this time he's just going to curl back around the coverage as mcnabb rolls to his right and there was an opportunity just missed it badly yeah and that's one of the few opportunities that you get working terrell owens over the middle of the ball generally he'll draw a crowd just not a very good pass by donovan second down and 10. t.o in the backfield mcnabb finds him first down owens started in the backfield and ends up 12 yards later with a philadelphia first down starting to remind me a little bit of how they used him in san francisco you know more in the slot more in the backfield where you just let him go one-on-one in linebackers one of the greatest assets that owens has is his ability to run with the ball after the catch a huge guy if you can get him running free in the secondary very difficult to bring down here's a chance for philadelphia to get back into this game on first down they stick with the throw and it's terrell owens again he's popped by polamalu but he's got a first down and a 20-yard completion he's talking with brad childress before the game he says there's a tendency for the steelers not to get a jam on the wide receivers as you're going to see terrell owens does not get held up there by deshay townsend he gets inside and that's where pittsburgh's vulnerable is over the middle of the ball as we've already seen terrell owens now three times has gotten in that area twice donovan's been able to get the ball in his hands give mcnabb a little credit for looking off the safety and creating that opportunity mcnabb in trouble throws it right into the hands of ferrier what a mistake and ferriers back down inside the philadelphia 40. this time donovan drops back pittsburgh does a pretty good job here covering everybody up they've got two guys there on terrell owens donovan looks back to his left nowhere to go unless he came underneath quick trying to make a play comes back out on his left side and throws it right into the hands of james ferrier you know this is the kind of play you expect a rookie quarterback to make and roethlisberger has not and now mcnabb does down by 18 points trying to do too much and ferrier ends up with it his second interception landed right in his gut well-timed blitz by the eagles and venice runs right by it gain of six you know in philadelphia defensively they've tried a lot of different looks i mean they're doing some different stunts up front some twists with their defensive tackles they're bringing linebackers up inside and everything that they've done has not been able to do anything to slow down this pittsburgh running game and that was just a killer turnover the eagles had finally gotten something going offensively t.o was getting hot and you just make a poor choice by quarterback donovan mcnabb bettis with his 55th career 100 yard day on the ground we're trying to add to it got a yard yeah we talked earlier a little bit about ben roethlisberger and what he's been able to do on third downs and i think there's a tendency when you look at this pittsburgh steeler team you think that because they run the ball so well and he's a young quarterback that he's only been managing the football games that's quite contrary to the facts he's actually been very much involved in making plays and keeping drives alive and winning football games for this team as has been evident from what we've seen here on third downs by him and it's incomplete for ward it's a huge stop by the eagles it really is there's a penalty flag and it's going to be an illegal shift it appears [Applause] so it's going to be fourth down well you wonder if they would have gone for it on fourth down from where they were i think that's four down territory now do they get backed up you have to decline this though illegal shift on the offense two men moving and not resetting that penalty is declined result of the play fourth down certainly by declining the penalty you now allow pittsburgh to go for it on fourth down i don't know that they would if they took the penalty and there was an incompletion i don't think on fourth down from the 38 i don't think that they then go for it on fourth down well this is not necessarily a play you could try the hard count here and try to get them to jump off sides the ball is sitting just outside the 31. so you're talking about roughly a 49-yard field goal try for reed who just missed from 33 yards unbelievable philly may have come across the pass incomplete unbelievable and it is against the philadelphia eagles how about that for ben roethlisberger the young rookie quarterback having the presence of mind knowing the situation using the hard count to his advantage getting a free play and also getting a first down but how dumb on the part of the philadelphia eagles everybody in the stadium [Applause] you could have asked any one of the cheerleaders and they would have known it was going to be a hard count right there how do you make that mistake they just didn't tell michael lewis i before now did not realize the cheerleaders were that into the game well apparently not everybody did know right i don't think they have cheerleaders here they don't but if there were four minutes six seconds left in the third quarter a big first down for pittsburgh and betis gets it to the 25 a again of one you know what was so interesting in the conversations with the steelers coaching staff and players is that ben roethlisberger was so bad when he first got here when he really first took over the job there was a point before the cincinnati game about his second or third game where basically bill caller had to call him into his office and say are you okay you know he was missing by 10 and 15 yards some passes and bill cowell went back in the locker room and said listen guys he is the variable right now you guys have to be the constant you've got to go get it done to bettis and jerome is down just inside the 24. another gain of one well how about what bill cower said to us yesterday chris when he said that he's a much better player on sunday than he is practice player during the week but i gotta tell you i was at the practice on friday i was impressed with the way he was throwing the ball around apparently that's not typical of what he shows on wednesdays and thursdays anyway it's got to be tough though for a young guy especially a guy that had such limited experience in this type of offense even being under center just to know where the guys are running on the routes third down and eight and the eagles have to spend a timeout this has not been a good defensive day for the philadelphia eagles third down for pittsburgh when we come back fox nfl sunday is brought to you by volkswagen on the road of life there are passengers and there are drivers by state farm like a good neighbor's state farm is there buy best buy thousands of possibilities get yours and by cialis cialis is here ask your doctor if a free sample of cialis is right for you ben roethlisberger getting marriage proposals from fans in the stands and the reason the eagles had to call a time out is because antoine randall l was lined up in the backfield on that third down and they were confused again dexter win and michael lewis just finally shoved him out there so get out there so they use the timeout 2 45 left in the third quarter [Applause] [Music] [Applause] that was dangerous that was close yes sir that didn't fool anybody on philadelphia's team and ben sort of floated that one up in the air that's one where they could have posted a seven on the scoreboard very quickly here comes a 42-yard try yeah and let's not forget that comes off of the fact that they drew michael lewis offsides to get the first down and that's what put him in field goal range but at least you keep it to a three touchdown game by not allowing a touchdown there and your offense was getting hot until the mistake by mcnabb so a 42-yard try reed moments ago missed from 33. eight for 12 on the season [Music] this one is hit better and it's good so it's back to a 21 point game here in the steel city with pittsburgh up on philly as we welcome all of you back we want to say hello and thank you as this game is being seen around the world on armed forces television we want to send our best wishes to the men and women of first battalion 228th aviation regiment stationed in honduras you know you alluded to my age earlier and i was a child i grew up during the whole vietnam era and saw the way that some of those veterans were treated when they came home i think it's going to be a totally different reception for these war heroes when they come home this time it's a 24-3 steeler lead and it's rodrik hood waiting for this kick from reed 64 975 which i think is a couple hundred better than their record crowd that they packed in to this stadium last weekend for the game against the new england patriots but the buffalo bills jumping out on the jets creating a little space possibly for the pittsburgh steelers there's the oakland score saw tampa bay now out in front of kansas city by four oh troy aikman look at that always tough going to cincinnati going to the jungle always tough in the jungle 2 36 left in this third quarter and the kick is through the end zone so the eagles will begin at their 20. a little recap for you heinz ward carried one in made a catch and then ran one in and then it was the tight end jay riemersma from ben roethlisberger the three touchdowns on the day and we've seen frustration on the eagle sideline for the first time all season coming in 7-0 terrell owens comes into this game with five straight 100-yard games the record is seven straight set by michael irvin in 1995. he's been shut down for the most part today you can see they're trying to make a concerted effort to get the ball in his hands and he makes the catch picks up four yards well they're keeping bodies on him there's no doubt about that they know where he is lining up and they know where he's trying to get to and when he's catching the ball they're trying to put a helmet on him and pretty safe to say chris that if philadelphia is going to get back in this game this drive they've got to be able to go down and get a touchdown yeah and donna mcnabb just has to get hot he's fully capable a great player and i think they need to go after william williams a little bit on the outside they've been leaving some single coverage at the top of your screen they haven't really taken advantage of it second down and six and it's ferrier again on a blitz and ferrier has had a fantastic afternoon he really has joe he comes in again on the blitz this is what they wanted to do they wanted to bring pressure inside on donovan mcnabb you're going to see him coming up through here and he just comes untouched you got the left guard blocking down artist hicks he doesn't come off of it doesn't see the blitz and as a result there's just nothing donovan can do to escape last week it was joey porter coming up huge now james ferrier this game reminiscent a little of the game he had against the dallas cowboys where he just took over mcnabb has some time fires to the sideline incomplete out of the reach of todd kingston fourth down for the eagles and let's have a game break from genies alaska the redskins offense downright offensive in the first half so they're getting creative in the second clinton portis back to pass yes portis to levernius kohl's 15-yard strike does the damage it is washington so brunel is having trouble throwing touchdowns they give it to clinton that's one answer here comes another punt from dirk johnson [Applause] checks up and goes backward and it's picked up wow on a hop it's hanes who got it on the second bounce and even the punter can't get the ball to bounce right here in pittsburgh for the eagles you look at the best starts in the history of this great organization 78 they were 7-0 73 6-1 75 6-1 they're on their way things don't change dramatically starting this season 7-1 after losing their starting quarterback tommy maddox in week two and this team's a little bit of a throwback to some of those days offensively with the way that they can run the football defensively though they're very different this team blitzes a heck of a lot more than that team did just they could just line up and whip you any way they wanted [Applause] just over a minute left and it's jerome bettis he's gone to the 41. i think also to take it a little bit further chris because yeah franco harrison company they were able to run the ball awfully effectively much like this group but they also had playmakers out at the skill position and that that's something that this team certainly has when you're talking about heinz ward and flexico burst along with antoine randall l and you got a quarterback that can get the ball down the field this is still somewhat of a vertical passing game much like what terry bradshaw ran back in the 70s with the mobility of terry bradshaw as well [Music] no rookie quarterback has ever led a team to the super bowl second down on eight that ball comes out and philadelphia ends up on top of it so a turnover michael lewis comes away with a football a bad exchange great pressure up front by the eagles defensive line and with 19 seconds left in this third quarter it's this turnover from roethlisberger trying to get it into the arms of jerome bettis it's really tough to tell there whether or not venice was supposed to take it but roethlisberger basically just tripped over the feet of jerome bettis and it almost looked like that bettis made a little bit of a cut that roethlisberger wasn't expecting but it looked like roethlisberger was undecided as to whether or not it was actually a handoff or if it was play action it was so there was some gray area there as to what he was trying to do with the ball second turnover blitz coming from pittsburgh and right into the arms is brian westbrook kendra bell who has made his presence felt in his first game back since the first pre-season game for pittsburgh they go with the cross blitz right in here right into the gut of the draw and for dick lebeau he's been magical so far today every time that they have tried something dick lemoas had the perfect answer 24-3 the steelers on top the eagles with the ball at their own 44 when we begin the fourth quarter back after this from your local fox station [Music] is that wishlist asking for too much beat the 6-0 pats beat the 7-0 eagles and win the super bowl in jacksonville in february second down for philadelphia mcnabb airs at pinkston incomplete williams defending for the steelers yeah that's a play that todd pinkston normally makes this is something that he's very good at they like to use him on the vertical routes he's one on one with willie williams donovan gives him a chance puts the ball in a great location looked like he went right through his hands he had his hands on it willie williams did not get his arm in there to knock that ball out that ball should have been caught williams has really made a difference on this team after the injury to chad scott he's stepped in there beautifully third down and 13. let's coming williams when you play against this pittsburgh steelers defense you have to watch the corners the shea towns in the other corner already with three sacks and donovan mcnabb never looked this way he had no idea he had three blitzers coming to this side and no time to hold on to that football you can see where they picked up larry foot the hardest thing for a quarterback to know is when they bring the cornerback cornerback blitz donovan doesn't sense it and he takes it right in the face sack of the day for pittsburgh and a line drive punt into the arms of antoine randall l [Applause] brought down by l.j smith the tight end so williams down field covering pinkston on the deep throw then coming on the blitz and getting his first sack of the year fox nfl sunday is brought to you by nissan and your nissan dealer by campbell's chucky soup with big chunks of meat and veggies it fills you up right by fedex kinkos you're one stop for copying printing and shipping and by michelob ultra lose the carbs not the taste [Music] look kids big ben where's parliament parliament can't get over to the left first and ten for the steelers blitz coming from the eagles [Applause] out to the 31-yard line a gain of seven and we go back to the hit on donovan mcnabb and the question is could donovan have known that it was coming very unusual alignment to see all these cover guys on the single receiver side i think donovan thought he had it protected for two guys blitzing but when the third guy came when the corner came it was not protected for that [Applause] second down and three venice into the open field and out of bounds at the 45. now if there's any questions as to whether or not he had any gas left in his tank i think this run here shows that he does a simple handoff he breaks outside and as you get older as a running back these are the types of runs that you struggle with with the speed to get outside not only does he get outside but he also has the ability still to break tackles you just cannot bring this guy down when you're down around his ankles it still has a little wiggle for a big guy too doesn't he i can remember watching him at notre dame and just being amazed at how many moves a guy his size had just shredding this philadelphia defense is this steeler offensive line let's go out to genie for a game break joe j fiedler out with a shoulder stinger replacement aj feely feeling his own kind of pain a tip pass falls right through the hands of dwayne starks he's off to the races 40 yards for the score's fifth interception return for a touchdown versus miami you just wonder how much more can go wrong for the miami dolphins unbelievable it started in the off season 207 rushing yards today for the steelers this is haynes not much this time you think about bettis being number six on the all-time list he came in with 12 482 yards in his great career 77 touchdowns traded here from the st louis rams after starting his career in los angeles traded here in 96 and the first five guys the only five above him on that all-time list you only have to say their first name emmett walter berry eric and tony and then there's jerome and curtis is about to pass it but you know you have to give him so much credit i think deuce daly was brought in given the starting role and he kept his mouth shut 30 and that's it adams was the first to lay a hand on him and of two i think even going back to last year chris remember they had amos zero way and they wanted him to be the guy to take jerome bettis's place felt that he was slowing down and by week seven jerome bettis was back in the starting lineup as the starting tail back and you're right he's he's welcomed deuce daily here and that's why it's worked because these two guys are great friends off the field they do a lot of things together away from the facility and because of that it's been a nice relationship between these two players got to spend about five minutes with venice to figure out what kind of a guy he is a classy person a direct snap to antoine randall l they're bringing it all out are the steelers and the eagles have no answers today we talked about the job that dick lebeau's done on defense you want to talk about a perfect call on offense all out blitz coming to the left side what do you do you hand it to your fastest player going to the right side perfect call perfect execution a beautifully executed game plan by ken winson hunt and this entire steelers offense and i think ken wisenhunt has been doing it all season long i mean he has made the game easier for ben roethlisberger and he's put these skill players in a position to have success he's done a terrific job as a first-time offensive coordinator for this steeler team [Applause] another blitz they hand to betta still making moves in the backfield [Music] and it starts up front smith vanica hardings it was close to retirement now anchoring this offensive line right in the middle vincent and oliver ross well let's not forget joe that keedrick vincent he took the place of kendall simmons quality player and he has stepped in and he has played well when he's had his chances and their left tackle marvel smith i was really impressed watching him play against richard seymour of the new england patriots a week ago he really held his own against one of the best players in the league and alan fanika i've already told you i think that's the most complete guard in the game [Applause] second down at nine betis down inside the 15-yard line steve horn is our editorial consultant here in the booth and he was reminding me of that 72 dolphins team and now every time every season that last undefeated team goes down and that is in the making here today barring a miraculous turnaround by the eagles and then you think about dick lebeau who was a defensive back under don schula with the detroit lions shula's first coaching job he was there from 60 to 62 and shula will have maybe a bottle sent to dick lebeau for the job his defense has done handling this philadelphia offense you know people forget dick lebeau was one of the greatest players in this game something like 60 interceptions in his career one of the all-time leaders in the national football league and getting offense five-yard penalty third down and i think getting dick lebeau back here remember he was the defensive coordinator in 95 when they went to the super bowl with pittsburgh and that really shored up the defensive side it allowed bill cower to go focus his attention on the offensive side get that back to what he wanted more of the traditional running game and power football that they'd gotten away from the last couple of years now a very complete football team a couple of injury notes dan kreider the fullback has a hip injury his return and his status right now is unknown [Applause] x-rays on his injured foot it doesn't look like mahe will rejoin the eagles for the rest of the day antoine randall l a seven yard completion from roethlisberger that's next sunday fox nfl sunday seahawks at rams good game in the nfc west and then we will be in green bay for the vikings against the surging green bay packers they really are packers started off almost exactly what they did a season ago so poorly came back got it to 500 went on that late run and of course fourth and 26 and fred x did him in in philadelphia knocked him out of the playoffs but they're getting hot again for those that don't know fred x is freddie mitchell there you go the people's champ reed knocks it through with just under eight minutes to play here in pittsburgh a 24-point lead for the steelers their biggest of the day [Music] welcome back to pittsburgh a 24-point steeler lead along with our producer richie zions our director artie kempner and all those in trucks and out here in the stadium bringing you the pictures and the sounds the steelers are on their way to a seven and one start and for pittsburgh they have a date coming up next at cleveland and they're at cincinnati they're home against washington at jacksonville [Applause] good as this record gonna be by the end of the season as rod hood takes it right up the middle and gets it inside steeler territory as he is knocked down at the 43. frustration all day long for the philadelphia eagles carol owens has had a day he'd like to forget so with the rest of these eagles 27-3 [Music] good day for a little paddle boat ride down the river beautiful afternoon weather-wise and for the steeler fans scoreboard wise mcnabb is nailed from behind as he let it go and that was aaron smith the unsung hero at left defensive end who got there to knock mcnabb as he let the pass fly well this is not a lot of fun for philadelphia offensively when you get into these situations against a good defensive team like pittsburgh and them knowing that you have to throw the ball they give you so many different looks so many various blitzes the zone dogs they can bring pressure as we just saw by rushing just four guys this is a tough position to be in movement by chad lewis is going to cost philadelphia five yards full start 89 offense five yard penalty still second down i heard you and troy say it's not a fun position for the team to be in but how about for the quarterback knowing that he's out there to throw the ball and you've got a steeler defense ready to tee off on you yeah and you got a wide receiver that's wondering why he's not getting the ball you know i mean it's a bad combination it's a bad combination let me tell you second down and 15. they move mcnabb and dump it off to always get the five yards back and let's check in again with jeannie zalasco with a game ring my partner charles davis will tell you offense usually gets all the love but special teams get the ball in detroit blocked punt taylor jacobs with the effort wall harris with the scoop and the touchdown the redskins up 17-3 all right genie thank you and you see the rest of the scores go by plenty of time left in the fourth quarter with miami up by a couple in arizona detroit the team that couldn't win on the road now can't win at home third down and 10. hangings coming penalty flag on the play and again mcnabb goes down uh-oh everybody's doing the bird now and i gotta tell you joe i think it's time to get don with mcnabb out of the game [Applause] it's a procedure call against philadelphia illegal formation number 84 on the offense was covered by the wide receiver that penalty is defined result of the play fourth down not a bad job by running on the outside runs them by but again nobody opened in haggins with the athleticism to come all the way around the corner and come back and get mcnabb the clock's not running here but philadelphia on the previous play was huddling up while the club clock is running and they're showing no urgency to get up and get the ball snapped if that's the case and they're not trying to make a run at getting back in this game i just think you got to get donovan mcnabb out fourth and 11. mcnabb with pressure behind him throws and it's incomplete owens was the intended receiver russell stevens an extra defensive back was defending for pittsburgh so that could be the end of the day for donovan mcnabb the eagles trying to make one more effort to get back in this game come up short on fourth down pittsburgh takes over [Music] [Music] oh [Music] no deuce daily today for the steelers and pittsburgh did not miss a beat first seven games 129 total yards he did have eight touchdowns day 32 carries 145 yards on the ground still pushing the pile forward and if you ask the question what do these guys do with those long commercial breaks when you have one of those cameras it's on a pulley and can get down close the three receivers mug mugging for the camera and these steelers are having a ball today it's the second week in a row that they've just absolutely dominated one of the better teams in the league last week they come out in the second half and just completely throttled new england did the exact same thing here today against philadelphia second down and six and handoff haynes has had a nice day when he's had a chance to relieve bettis gets four we came on the air talking about what the steelers were trying to accomplish becoming the first team in the history of the nfl this deep into the season to defeat undefeated teams in back-to-back weeks they did it to the new england patriots last week and they are five and a half minutes away from officially doing it to the philadelphia eagles today i know we don't have polls in the national football league but i think if the writers were voting there's no question who the number one team in the nation would be right now and he is ahead for a first down let's check in again with pam oliver hey joe it hasn't been a very positive day for the eagles offense but team teammates tell me that tara lowens is the consummate team guy you heard me right talked to chad lewis before the game he said he absolutely loves having t.o on the team he considers him to be a great locker room guy to boot even though we saw that little tip between donovan and t.o earlier in the game by most accounts t.o is a welcomed addition to the team all right thank you pam and i i don't think there's any doubt that a big factor with that sideline action was the frustration on the part of mcnabb he didn't want to hear it from anybody at that point yeah and i'm not sure that it was any sort of argument or attempt or anything i i just think that sometimes a wide receiver wants to go get in his ear come on now come on we can do it give me the ball i'll get us back you know all that kind of stuff just doesn't want to have to exactly that's exactly what it is so we're like you in the booth every once in a while this is earlier well you could just tell by donovan's body language that he was just he was frustrated himself frustrated with some of the throws that he had made and i'm sure uh terrell owens just wanted to talk to him about some of the things they could do to be a little bit more effective offensively but you talk to these players for the eagles and pam's absolutely right they all talk about what a team guy he has been from day one handoff is to willie parker carries the ball for the first time this season and gets a first down out of bounds into philadelphia 31. well last week pittsburgh ran the ball for over 220 yards against the new england patriots today that number's 252 and counting remember what new england was last week five so in back-to-back weeks now they've given up 21 yards rushing and five yards rushing that's an average chris of 13 a game obviously dude in america hot hot hot [Applause] first down for the steelers that's the inside we get from joe yeah god he's back willie parker another person that we hear from during the baseball season not just me but jeannie zalasko with a game break yeah you can't get rid of us to miami we're the arizona defense recently picked up some points now the offense kicks in via emmett smith 60-yard run for the score 17-12 arizona did i say how much worse can it get for miami you got to be happy for emmett smith getting the touchdown i'm thrilled [Applause] second down 50 times they've carried the ball the last three have been by willie parker is the steeler fan serenade the eagles and there's a little fight after the carry by parker and let's see who ends up on the bottom of the pile it's reemersma yeah this is this is old-fashioned football though wouldn't you agree troy there were times that your offensive line and emmitt smith would just maul people and that's exactly what the steelers have done here today it was jeremiah trotter on the eagles side and it's been all pittsburgh today up 27-3 [Applause] [Music] 27-3 the ball is at the 27. the oldest and the worst chance to hear if you're an opponent in a stadium the hey hey hey goodbye and that's exactly what it's been since the early going in this one third down and six hanes to the 24 that's it and they will stop the clock [Applause] as philadelphia takes the time out well the other thing chris is the last thing you want to have happen to you as a football team is to have someone run the ball down your throat it questions your toughness and everything that you're about from a physical standpoint as a football team and i tell you they're gonna they're gonna have to take a long hard look at this one when they go back in on monday and look at the film and see exactly what's happened but pittsburgh offensively has just been more physical and has outplayed this team over 100 rushing attempts the last two weekends against new england and philadelphia for pittsburgh well that was a question could they stop the run the answer an emphatic no for the philadelphia eagles but troy i think the other side of this equation is do the eagles have enough of a running game themselves to take some pressure off of donovan mcnabb in these big games against these good defenses [Applause] fourth down and three and the steelers will go for it 2 48 to go [Applause] and complete it to matt cushing he's got a first down and he's got his first catch of the season and heinz ward almost had a heart attention it was wide open for a walk-in touchdown they said oh it was my third it was my third all out sell out to try and stop the run and heinz is jumping up and down and begging for one [Applause] chris i think to go back to your question earlier about the running game of the philadelphia eagles i believe that they do but you can't throw the ball 66 percent of the time right all season long and then expect to be able to run the ball with that offensive line when they're not accustomed to coming off the ball like that and using the running game when you have to use it and i think that's something that they've got to take a harder look at of course andy reid loves to throw the football and has enjoyed tremendous amount of success but when you get into games where the passing game isn't real effective it's nice when you can rely on a good solid running game to help your quarterback out pretty classy move here by bill cower they will not be able to run this clock out they'll have to turn it back over and he's simply not going to run up the score i'm thinking that bill is saying there's a good possibility we may see this team again possibly in jacksonville florida for the super bowl two guys who have been here in pittsburgh for a long time coming together to share a smile big day for the steelers [Music] troy it's a show tonight tonight on fox baby how big is it season premiere sunday with king of the hill big show down there the biggest malcolm ever the all-new simpsons treehouse of horror arrested development the emmy winner for best comedy in the series premiere of my big fat obnoxious box boss oh god that was horrible fox season premiere sunday starts tonight at seven is that what you gotta do it's only two minutes to go in the game you couldn't hold it for two more minutes and make a total fool out of myself this stadium is beautiful i mean it's state-of-the-art fantastic but there's one flaw for broadcasters here at this press box it's a you didn't pull anything did you i don't think so you better hydrate when you get home tonight i will a minute and a half remaining and it's a third down for the steelers and we had that shot of cower who's been here since 92. steelers have had two head coaches over the last 36 years that feeling of family and continuity and you wonder if including that super bowl year this might be the most dangerous team that bill cower has had here in pittsburgh yeah i think so and and when you talk to people around the league and they're always talking about having stability at the quarterback position in some ways stability at the head coaching position is that much more important and they certainly have that as you've mentioned here with pittsburgh you know and dan rooney the guy that let's face it he could have easily pulled the trigger on cower a few years ago they went through a pretty tough stretch there but he believes in continuity and stability and he stayed with his guy and now his guy is back to what he does best and that's the power running game the defense and they are indeed back [Music] officially now with half a minute remaining and on fourth down they had to kneel down so the eagles left come out and at least run one more play you see the names of the people who are responsible for bringing you this game today on fox first team in nfl history to defeat two undefeated teams in consecutive games this deep into the season a minimum of a 6-0 record and these two clubs will leave this stadium with records of 7-1 well an even more impressive joe and the fact that they've won the games is how they've won them i mean these have been good football teams these past two weeks that they have played and they've made it look easy and then you ask yourself just how good is this pittsburgh team and from what we've seen they're the best in the league at this time i agree and i say cheers to nick bonacani and bob griese and don shula enjoy your champagne pop the corks have a great time guys penalty flag on this handoff as there was movement across the line of scrimmage you look at the eagle schedule after we showed you the steelers upcoming schedule at dallas against washington defense five-yard penalty replay first down a game at the giants and now you wonder about the new york giants and uh challenging this philadelphia team as there were some glaring weaknesses and some holes exposed by the steelers team with this philadelphia club so far into the season one of eight games in well there's no question but the one thing we do know we do know that philadelphia is going to bounce back i mean they showed that and proved that to us a year ago every time that they've had their backs against the wall and people have counted them out they've rebounded and they've come back and i think there's a tendency for all of us it happened last week when new england got beat by pittsburgh everybody wants to overreact in this league it's still just one loss and there's no question in my mind that philadelphia is still the team to beat the nfc yeah the only thing i would say about that is if you get a power running team maybe the green bay packers type of team that could run the football seattle another team that could possibly give this philadelphia eagles team some trouble because of the inability to stop the run this is reno mahee so good news for the eagles he was getting his injured foot looked at now he's well enough to come back into the game big ben is 6-0 as a starter that ties an nfl record for rookie quarterbacks mike kruzek did it in 1976 and it will be a date at cleveland next weekend as roethlisberger tries to break that record we'll take a break come back to wrap up a long day of football here in pittsburgh after this

Channel: All Highlights

Views: 12,730

Rating: 4.9148936 out of 5

Keywords: play, touchdown, all highlights, wk 9, sp:li=nfl, games, highlights, td, defense, offense, afc, best plays, nfl, top plays, game, sport, amazing, sp:st=football, football, nfc, week 9, sp:vl=en-US, 2004, primetime, american football, season, sports, plays, game highlights, highlight, ben, roethlisberger, hines, ward, jerome, bettis, troy, polamalu, antwaan, randle el, donovan, mcnabb, brian, westbrook, terrell, owens, t o, argument, dispute, dawkins

Id: WFfSjMTnVHY

Length: 122min 54sec (7374 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 07 2020