Eagles stats: Time of possession, targets to A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, and defensive dominance highlight win over Steelers

The Eagles nearly doubled up the Steelers in time of possession and ran 36 more plays than Pittsburgh.

Coach Nick Sirianni celebrates after the Eagles scored in the fourth quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer

Published Dec. 16, 2024, 1:11 p.m. ET

The Eagles won their 10th consecutive game Sunday, setting a franchise record in a 27-13 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Their passing game came alive, their defense dominated, and they moved one step closer to clinching the NFC East crown while keeping their chances of the No. 1 seed in the conference alive.

Here are four numbers that help tell the story of the latest Eagles win.

77

Jordan Mailata was still taking deep breaths well after the game ended. Lane Johnson said it was a “long day.” Johnson was on an island against one of the best edge rushers of this generation, T.J. Watt, for most of Sunday. It was going to be a tough game regardless, but the Eagles had the football for most of the night, meaning Johnson had to go against Watt, who got hurt late in the fourth quarter, more than he probably envisioned.

The Eagles ran a season-high 77 offensive plays Sunday. They nearly doubled up the Steelers in time of possession, 39 minutes, 52 seconds to 20:08. The Steelers decided to punt trailing by two scores on a fourth-and-7 from the Eagles’ 46-yard line early in the fourth quarter. They were happy to pin the Eagles deep, but they couldn’t have expected what transpired. The Eagles started the ensuing drive with 10:29 on the clock and the ball on their own 3-yard line.

Pittsburgh didn’t touch the ball again. The Eagles ran 21 consecutive plays.

The Steelers ran just 41 plays overall, the lowest total in the NFL this season, and the plus-36 advantage was easily the largest disparity of the season for the Eagles, who had a plus-22 edge in plays during their Week 9 victory over Jacksonville.

The 77 plays were the most the Eagles had in a game since running 78 plays in a Week 5 win over the Rams in Los Angeles last season. The plus-36 advantage in plays, the largest of the Nick Sirianni era, was the most since the Eagles ran 34 more plays than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 3 last season.

23

The passing game is all right.

Jalen Hurts, playing with a broken left ring finger, had one of his best games of the season, and the Eagles’ passing attack, which was the topic of the week, got back on track in a big way with its best players.

Hurts threw in the direction of A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith 23 times Sunday, the only time so far in 2024 the team’s top two receivers combined for 20-plus targets. How much has the Eagles offense changed with the arrival of Saquon Barkley? Brown and Smith combined for 20-plus targets six times last season.

The 23 targets toward Brown and Smith nearly matched the 24 targets they accumulated in the last two games they both played in combined.

Smith brought in a career-high 11 catches for 109 yards. Brown had eight catches for 110 yards. Both players scored touchdowns.

“So that’s what y’all wanted to see, huh?” Hurts said as he sat down at the podium Sunday night.

4.9

The Eagles got Brown involved early. Hurts threw his way on the Eagles’ second offensive play of the game. Then, on the third series, Brown caught consecutive passes of 16 and 20 yards to start the drive to quickly move into Pittsburgh territory. That drive ended with a 5-yard Brown touchdown reception.

Brown excelled against man coverage. According to Next Gen Stats, Hurts targeted Brown on eight of his 13 routes against man coverage, leading to six catches and 89 yards (including the touchdown).

Brown, according to Next Gen Stats, has averaged 4.9 yards per route against man coverage this season, the most by any receiver with at least 75 routes run against man coverage in a season since at least 2018.

175

The offense was rightfully in the spotlight, but what about the defense?

The Eagles held the Steelers to their lowest yardage output on offense (163) since 2010 and became the only team in the league to hold three opponents under 175 total yards in a game this season in the process. The Eagles allowed 119 yards against the New York Giants in Week 7 and 146 against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 10.

Pittsburgh generated just one explosive play in the game and it needed to reach into the bag of tricks — a 31-yard flea flicker to Calvin Austin — to pull it off.