The Worksheet, a fantasy football overview by Rich Hribar, breaking down everything you need to know for the Week 8 Pittsburgh Steelers at Philadelphia Eagles Sunday afternoon game.
| Pittsburgh | Rank | @ | Philadelphia | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Spread | -11 | ||
| 16.25 | Implied Total | 27.25 | ||
| 15.3 | 31 | Points/Gm | 26.8 | 4 |
| 23.1 | 22 | Points All./Gm | 17.5 | 4 |
| 62.3 | 19 | Plays/Gm | 70.7 | 1 |
| 68.9 | 32 | Opp. Plays/Gm | 63 | 17 |
| 4.8 | 32 | Off. Yards/Play | 5.6 | 13 |
| 5.7 | 21 | Def. Yards/Play | 4.7 | 3 |
| 38.07% | 23 | Rush% | 53.07% | 3 |
| 61.93% | 10 | Pass% | 46.93% | 30 |
| 42.12% | 17 | Opp. Rush % | 34.92% | 2 |
| 57.88% | 16 | Opp. Pass % | 65.08% | 31 |
- The Eagles have outscored their opponents 112-27 in the second quarter this season, the most points scored in a quarter for any team this season.
- Five teams have yet to score 112 points on the season, including the Steelers (107).
- 69.6% of the points scored by the Eagles have come in the second quarter. No other team has scored 50% of their points in an isolated quarter this season.
- Philadelphia is first in the league in points per drive in the first half (3.51) and 29th in points per drive in the second half (1.17).
- Just 10.8% of the Philadelphia drives have gone three plays and then punt, second in the league.
- 32.1% of the Pittsburgh possessions have gone three plays and then punt, the highest rate in the league.
- The Steelers are the only team in the league without a touchdown scored from outside of the red zone.
Trust = spike production for that player
Quarterback
Jalen Hurts (TRUST): Hurts is coming out of the bye as the QB2 in fantasy points per game (24.3), closing as a QB1 scorer in all but one of his games.
Hurts has seen his yards per pass attempt drop in each of the past three games from the week prior as teams have started to give him the Lamar Jackson treatment. Hurts was blitzed on 48.6% of his dropbacks against Arizona and Dallas after being blitzed on 33.5% of his dropbacks Weeks 1-4.
Hurts has been sensitive to the blitz, ranking 25th in EPA per dropback (-0.16) with a league-low depth of target of just 4.9 yards downfield when blitzed. When he hasn’t been blitzed, Hurts is fifth in EPA per dropback (0.19) with a depth of target of 7.6 yards.
That still ranks 20th in the league as hurts and the Eagles have not set up vertical shots in this offense yet. Just 7.1% of Hurts’s passes have been deep throws, ahead of only Matt Ryan (5.1%), Kirk Cousins (4.4%), and Daniel Jones (4.2%).
We will see what the Eagles come out of the bye with in terms of getting more downfield opportunities and handling the blitz should teams continue to send extra rushers.
Outside of those two elements to keep an eye on moving forward, this is a solid matchup. The Steelers have been a defense to target, allowing 7.5 yards per pass attempt (26th), 12.4 yards per completion (30th), and a 4.5% touchdown rate (22nd). Five of the seven quarterbacks to face the Steelers have been QB1 scorers. Keeping Hurts as a high-end QB1 option.
