This is the fifth in a 13-part weekly series examing the history of the Pittsburgh Steelers versus their 2020 opponents.
When the Steelers face the Philadelphia Eagles at Heinz Field in October, they will be four seasons removed from their forgettable 34-3 loss in Philly. Four years is a long time, especially in football — both teams look a little different than they did in 2016. The Steelers don’t have a single receiver left on the roster who played in that game — Antonio Brown, Sammie Coates, Eli Rogers, Markus Wheaton, Darrius Heyward-Bey.
Let’s take a look at the history between these storied franchises.
When the league first began, it had two conferences: Eastern and Western. With the conferences aligned geographically, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia belonged in the Eastern Conference. They played each other twice annually until 1943 when the Steelers and Eagles merged to form the Phil-Pitt Combine — also known as the Steagles — because they had both lost many players to military service during World War II.
In 1944, there was a second merger with the Chicago Cardinals to form the Card-Pitt Combine. Thankfully, the war ended before the 1945 seasons, and the teams resumed normal operations.
After the AFL-NFL merged, the Steelers and Eagles were placed in different conferences. Their meetings became infrequent, and they have only played each other 12 times since 1970.
The two teams have 79 head-to-head matchups (including one postseason game), with the Pittsburgh Steelers winning 28 games and the Philadelphia Eagles, 48. They have also tied three times, two which came in the same 1963 season. Total points scored by the Eagles are 1498 to the Steelers 1116.
Their first-ever “Battle of Pennsylvania” was played on Nov. 19, 1933, at the Baker Bowl in Philadelphia. The Steelers weren’t yet known as the Steelers, though — they were the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates lost 25-6 with their only touchdown coming on the ground from running back Angelo Brovelli.
The biggest blowout of the series occurred in 1945 when the Eagles defeated the Steelers, 45-3.
There have been 13 series shutouts — six of them won by the Steelers and seven by the Eagles. The biggest shutout took place in 1957, with the Steelers coasting to a 31-0 victory. Two Steelers shutouts were back-to-back, as were two Eagles shutouts. The Eagles shutouts were Nov. 30, 1947, and Dec. 21, 1947, both ended with a 21-0 score. The December shutout was for the Eastern Division championship and was the second in a string of seven consecutive losses for the Steelers in the series. From 1947 to 1956, the Steelers were owned by the Eagles, as Pittsburgh would only beat Philadelphia four times in 20.
The last time Pittsburgh hosted Philadelphia was in 2012 when the Steelers squeaked by the Eagles, 16-14.
This year’s contest will be the fifth in the Ben Roethlisberger era. The teams are tied at two wins apiece since Big Ben took over in 2004.
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