Xtra Points

It's not how you start, it's how you finish

Aug 12, 2021 at 11:52 PM

Mike Prisuta

Steelers.com

Gamebook

The Steelers started slowly in Philadelphia but got better in a hurry.

Touchdowns on their last complete possession of the first half and their first two drives of the second helped fuel a comeback from deficits of 13-0 and 16-7 on the way to a 24-16 victory over the Eagles tonight at Lincoln Financial Field.

The Steelers improved to 2-0 on the preseason.

The Eagles fell to 0-1.

QB Dwayne Haskins moved the Steelers 75 yards on 10 plays in 5:28 on the first possession of the second half for a touchdown that drew the visitors to within 16-14.

Haskins finished the drive on a free play (the Eagles' defense was flagged for offside) that became a roll to the right and an on-the-run, 22-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Anthony Johnson, who was wide open in the end zone.

Christian Kuntz snapped, punter Pressley Harvin III held and Sam Sloman kicked on the successful extra point.

An interception and 11-yard return by cornerback Justin Layne ended Philadelphia's next possession and set the Steelers up at the 50.

From there Haskins directed an 11-play, 50-yard drive in 5:45 that ended on a 1-yard touchdown run by running back Jaylen Samuels. The score was appropriate given that Samuels had gained 13 yards on the previous three snaps, including 5 on third-and-2 from the Philadelphia 6-yard line.

The Kuntz-Harvin-Sloman trio produced the PAT that upped the Steelers' first lead to 21-16 with 2:59 left in the third quarter.

The Eagles grabbed a two-score lead on a 79-yard, catch-and-run touchdown by wide receiver Quez Watkins, who caught a sideways pass from quarterback Joe Flacco behind the line of scrimmage, headed up the field and didn't stop until he had crossed the goal line late in the first quarter. Steelers cornerback Cam Sutton, strong safety Terrell Edmunds and inside linebacker Ulysees Gilbert III were all blocked on the play, and free safety Tre Norwood was unable to come up from single-high coverage and find an angle that allowed him to get a hand on Watkins.

Kicker Jake Elliott's extra point made it 10-0 Philadelphia with 21 seconds left in the first.

Elliott's second field goal of the night, this one from 47 yards out, upped the Eagles' lead to 13-0 with 9:37 left before halftime.

The Steelers sliced the Philadelphia advantage to 13-7 with 1:51 left in the first half with a nine-play, 70-yard drive in 4:13.

Running back Anthony McFarland finished it with a 1-yard touchdown run. McFarland had also extended the march with a 7-yard reception from Haskins on third-and-1 from the Steelers' 39.

Haskins went 5-for-5 passing for 42 yards on the march, which also included a pass interference penalty in the Philadelphia end zone that set the table for McFarland's touchdown run.

Kam Canaday snapped, punter Jordan Berry held and kicker Chris Boswell split the uprights on the extra point.

"We just managed the situation very well," head coach Mike Tomlin told KDKA-TV at halftime. "We took what the defense gave us. (Haskins) did a great job administering all of that."

The Eagles added a 50-yard field goal by Elliott with 13 seconds left before the break for a 16-7 lead. Flacco moved the Eagles 55 yards on nine plays in 1:38.

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Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith (56) during a preseason game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles, Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021 in Philadelphia, PA. (Thomas Galante / Pittsburgh Steelers)