Steelers HC Mike Tomlin holds back on praise for rookie WR Chase Claypool

Mike Tomlin downplays the big game by Chase Claypool.

When Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was asked about the breakout performance of wide receiver Chase Claypool. The former Notre Dame star had 11 touches he turned into 116 total yards and four touchdowns.

But this wasn’t going to dissuade Tomlin from taking his typical approach of giving out praise to young players. And by approach, I mean refusing to do it.

“Let’s be honest, a lot of it might not even have to do with him and his skillset,” Tomlin said. “We’ve got guys that people have to account for, guys like JuJu, guys like Diontae and Ebron. I just think that he’s probably a good matchup for whoever people have assigned to him from a man-to-man standpoint.”

In one sense, Tomlin is absolutely right. When you have multiple players you can put out in the route to draw attention, someone is going to get a matchup they can win. A perfect example of this was on Claypool’s last touchdown when the Eagles let a linebacker try to cover the rookie and he easily beat him downfield for a score.

But you cannot discount the football acumen of Claypool and how quickly he has found a spot on this offense. Through four games, Claypool has 13 receptions for  261 receiving yards and five total touchdowns.

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Steelers lose 3 offensive starters to injury in win

The Steelers won but the injuries piled up.

It was great to see the Pittsburgh Steelers hold off the Philadelphia Eagles and pull out the 38-29 win. But what you don’t like to see are multiple starters have to leave the game with injuries.

Wide receiver Diontae Johnson suffered a back injury, guard David DeCastro suffered an abdominal injury and the injury to center Maurkice Pouncey was identified as a foot injury.

The Steelers get their toughest test of the season next week when they take on the resurgent Cleveland Browns. The passing offense didn’t miss a beat without Johnson mainly because of the emergence of rookie Chase Claypool.

However, the Steelers cannot afford to be down their two best offensive linemen when they take on a Browns defense containing defensive end Myles Garrett.

The hope is all three guys will be able to get healthy this week and be available on Sunday. Keep in mind, when injuries like this come up, Pittsburgh now has 12 straight games without a bye thanks to the Tennessee Titans COVID-19 debacle.

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Instant analysis of Steelers’ 38-29 victory over the Eagles

A quick glimpse at how things played out at Heinz Field today.

The Steelers are 4-0 for the first time since 1979. But it wasn’t easy.

For yet another game, Pittsburgh wasn’t able to break their streak of 22 games without an opening touchdown and fell flat on their first drive.

It was a sluggish start to what ended up being a high-scoring affair. After three punts to open the game, the Steelers and Eagles traded touchdowns on four drives, the speed finally picked up.

Linebacker Vince Williams set the tone for the Eagles run game — or lack thereof — when he bull-rushed in to tackle running back Miles Sanders for a two-yard loss on the first play of the game.

With the exception of a long 76-yard run by Sanders, in which Pittsburgh was clearly caught off guard, the Steelers held him to a mere four yards.

Both teams did an excellent job stopping the run and there was little to speak of on the ground.

Philly’s quarterback Carson Wentz spread it around to seven different receivers throughout the game, but second-year receiver Travis Fulgham was the Eagles’ playmaker. Not Steven Nelson, nor Mike Hilton or Minkah Fitzpatrick could put a stop to Fulgham, who ended the day with 152 yards and a touchdown.

With a minute left in the 1st quarter, a questionable holding call (there were plenty in this game) on the Eagles took the Steelers down to the goal line where wide receiver Chase Claypool scored his first touchdown of four touchdowns.

As the game went on, Pittsburgh’s front four became less and less effective. After a rough first couple of quarters, Philadelphia’s offensive line was giving Wentz time — a luxury he hadn’t had all season long.

The Birds came back from 17 points down to make it a 31-29 point game near the end.

Just as Wentz was getting comfortable, he threw a comeback-killing interception to Nelson with two minutes left.

In nail-biting fashion, the Steelers pulled off another win to go 4-0 on the season.

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Steelers hold off Eagles thanks to huge rookie performance

The Steelers stay unbeaten thanks to Chase Claypool.

The Pittsburgh Steelers had fans in the stadium for the first time all season on Sunday and they put on a real show on the way to a 38-29 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.

Both teams flexed their muscles on defense but in the end the front of the Steelers was too mich for a banged-up Philadelphia offensive line. Pittsburgh ended up sacking Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz and while Wentz did throw for 258 yards, Pittsburgh found ways to step up and make plays when they had to.

The Steelers offense found themselves in a shootout in the second half after letting the Eagles get back into the game. Ben Roethlisberger threw for 239 yards and three touchdowns and once again didn’t turn the football over.

But the player of the game was rookie wide receiver Chase Claypool. When wide receiver Diontae Johnson left with a back injury, Claypool put on a show. The rookie out of Notre Dame accounted for 116 yards of offense and four total touchdowns.

This puts the Steelers at 4-0 on the season and on top of the AFC North. This sets them up for a huge divisional showdown at home against the Cleveland Browns next week.

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Steelers G David DeCastro, WR Diontae Johnson questionable to return

Steelers G David DeCastro, WR Diontae Johnson questionable to return

The Pittsburgh Steelers announced via their Director of Communications Burt Lauten that guard David DeCastro is being evaluated for an abdominal injury is questionable to return.

Rookie Kevin Dotson will fill in for DeCastro.  DeCastro missed the first two games of the season with a knee injury.

In addition, wide receiver Diontae Johnson is also questionable to return as he suffered a back injury fielding a punt in the first half. Look for more James Washington and Chase Claypool in Johnson’s absence.

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Steelers vs Eagles inactives: FB Derek Watt, S Marcus Allen inactive

The Steelers inactives are out.

The Pittsburgh Steelers special teams are taking a hit this week against the Philadelphia Eagles. The team announced their inactive for Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles and two special teams stars won’t be playing.

Here is the full list of inactives for this week.

QB Joshua Dobbs

S/LB Marcus Allen

FB Derek Watt

DT Carlos Davis

OT Derwin Gray

TE Zach Gentry

The Steelers elevated running back Trey Edmunds to the 53-man roster this week to help fill in the void on special teams. It’s good to see running back Anthony McFarland Jr. looks to be getting a helmet on game day going forward after a strong performance against the Houston Texans.

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Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia: Steelers Wire’s prediction for Week 5

Predictions for Steelers-Eagles matchup from Steelers Wire editor, Curt Popejoy, and contributor, Allison Koehler.

Predictions… what a concept!

Ladies first.

Allison Koehler

Rich Schultz/Getty Images

I’m eager to see how this game unfolds because of the wild two weeks the Steelers have experienced since they last took the field. Ultimately, I don’t see it affecting them.

The main concern is with Philadelphia’s defensive line, which rivals Pittsburgh’s, ranked 4th and 2nd, respectively. With a first-ranked run defense, the Steelers should have the upper hand there. The Eagles have allowed 435 on the ground and six touchdowns.

The Pittsburgh forecast calls for rain starting around kickoff and increasing throughout. Depending on how that goes, it could mean a big day for James Conner, Anthony McFarland, and whoever else Mike Tomlin uses.

On paper, it appears that the only viable threat to the Steelers is the Eagles defensive line. Pittsburgh’s offensive line has been playing well, though. The Steelers should go 4-0 — for the first time since 1979 — as long as they can protect Ben and open lanes up for James Conner.

My prediction: Steelers 17, Eagles 9

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Curt Popejoy

(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

The strength of both these teams is in their ability to rush the opposing quarterback. So it makes sense that you look at which team has the advantage based on which offensive line is set up to handle the challenge.

In this case, the advantage goes to the Steelers in a big way. Philadelphia’s offensive line has been decimated but injuries and I’m not sure they know what they are getting themselves into trying to slow down the waves of pass rushers the Steelers are going to bring.

Pittsburgh has been waiting a long time to get 30 points in a game and I think this is the week they get it done. This long layoff and abridged bye week will serve as a rallying point for the Steelers and they finally come out of the gates fast on offense.

My prediction: sTEELERS  35 , eAGLES 24

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Steelers vs. Eagles: 2 key receivers ruled out for matchup vs. Philadelphia

An already ailing Eagles team will be without two playmakers on Sunday at Heinz Field.

On Friday, the Philadelphia Eagles ruled out both Desean Jackson (hamstring) and Alshon Jeffery (illness) for their Sunday square-off at Heinz Field.

Jackson suffered a hamstring injury in the first half of the Eagles’ Week 4 tie with the Bengals, and won’t be suiting up though he practiced on a limited basis this week. The Pro Bowl receiver has 10 catches for 121 yards in the Eagles’ first three games.

Jeffery missed the last seven weeks of 2019 after being placed on injured reserve with the foot injury that has lingered into this season. He was on the brink of returning when the illness came to light this week. Alshon had 490 yards and four touchdowns in 10 games last season.

These guys are just two on a laundry list of hurt Birds.

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With Philadelphia’s offense is in shambles, their defense should pose the biggest concern for the Steelers on Sunday. The Eagles D is ranked 10th overall and currently has the most sacks in the league with 17.

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Which Eagle do you want on the Steelers this weekend?

Which Eagles player will you poach this week?

Every week we take a look at the roster of the opposition for the Pittsburgh Steelers opponent and figure out which guy would help the Steelers the most this weekend. This week it is the 1-2-1 Philadelphia Eagles for the championship of Pennsylvania.

Looking at the Steelers roster, there are a few names that stand out. Here are our top five players on the Eagles’ roster.

DT Fletcher Cox

OT Lane Johnson

CB Darius Slay

C Jason Kelce

TE Zach Ertz

A couple of names jump off the page right away. Offensive tackle Lane Johnson would be a very tempting option if he was fully healthy. But since his status for Sunday’s game is up in the air, it’s too risky.

This moves us to defensive tackle Fletcher Cox. The Steelers might not need Cox but you don’t pass us a guy of his talent, especially if it means you can take him off of the other team.

Who would you want on the Steelers this week from the Eagles roster? Let us know in the comments.

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Welcome to episode 6 of the Steelers Wire podcast

This week we talk about the impact the Titans debacle could have on the Steelers down the road.

We are back with episode five of the Steelers Wire podcast.

The podcast is once again hosted by Ryan O’Leary (@RyanOLearySMG on Twitter) and I’ll join him each week to break down the latest Steelers news.

Everything from the latest info on the team to fantasy football advice will be covered, along with some opinions on the betting lines, all with a focus on the Steelers.

In Episode 6 of the podcast, we talk about the weird week after the Steelers were forced to move their game with the Tennessee Titans to the middle of the season and force Pittsburgh into 13 straight games without a true bye week.

You can listen to the second episode below:

As always, you can catch a new episode each Thursday on Apple Podcasts or your podcast service of choice.

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