Eagles Vs. Steelers Score: Steelers' First-Teamers Lead Way To 24-14 Win

Steelers linebacker James Harrison has made a name for himself by unapologetically delivering some of the most vicious, and often controversial, hits in the NFL. He once told reporters he seeks to hurt offensive players when he tackles them. Thursday night, however, when his defensive teammate Troy Polamalu was on the other side of a potentially dangerous hit by Eagles quarterback Micheal Vick while returning an interception, Harrison was crying foul.

You should have heard the gasp when Polamalu went down.

He was fine, of course, but some in the Steelers’ locker room fumed about Vick going low like that, especially in a preseason game. As Harrison told me, "You wouldn’t think he’d hit Troy like that if he was just trying to tackle him."

Was Vick's hit low, and possibly a little dirty? Sure. But for Harrison, a man who has railed against NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's crackdown on illegal and dirty hits to the point of floating conspiracy theories, to even think about opening his mouth critically in this situation is the height of hypocrisy.

What's worse is Polamalu had absolutely no reason to expose himself to such a hit. It is preseason after all. No one would have faulted Polamalu for sliding to the turf and avoiding injury. Instead, Polamalu decided on the reckless route, opening himself up to a hit by not only running the interception back, but taking his eyes off a closing Vick. He almost looked like he was trying to find someone to lateral the ball to as he took the hit from Vick.

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Mike Kafka managed to hit Gerald Jones for two meaningless touchdowns late in the fourth quarter, but the Steelers’ second preseason game was still a rousing success, as Pittsburgh won 24-14.

The Steelers dominated the first half, as the defense pulled off three interceptions and Ben Roethelisberger and Byron leftwich combined for three touchdown passes. The Steelers led 21-0 after the first half, which mostly featured both teams’ starters.

In the second half, Kafka cut up the Steelers’ defense a bit, throwing for 160 yards, but it didn’t matter. The starters were long gone. Dennis Dixon went a meaningless 8-for-11 for 90 yards in the second half for the Steelers, who also used the second half to get a closer look at 2010 draft pick Jonathan Dwyer, who rushed for 44 yards on 13 carries (while looking visibly skinnier than last week – he’s been dropping some weight).

All in all, it was a far better effort for the Steelers than last week’s drubbing at the hands of the Washington Redskins.

For more on the Steelers, check out Behind The Steel Curtain.

The first half of the Steelers’ second preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles has been as great as their first preseason game against the Washington Redskins was bad. The Steelers have played very well almost across the board, producing offensively and sacking Michael Vick three times, en route to a score of 21-0 at halftime.

Both Ben Roethlisberger and Byron Leftwich have been effective in leading the Pittsburgh offense. Roethlisberger passed to Antonio Brown for a 29-yard score in the first quarter, then to Hines Ward for a 20-yard score in the second. Leftwich entered the game with about nine minutes left in the second half and ended up with a 20-yard touchdown pass to newcomer Jerricho Cotchery.

Meanwhile, Vick did not look sharp, and Ryan Clark, Keenan Lewis (having a much-needed good game) and Troy Polamalu all intercepted him. The Eagles’ offense hardly ever seemed to be on the field at all, in fact.

The Steelers’ running game, led by Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman, was also effective in the first half, as the Steelers picked up 93 yards on the ground.

Cotchery, making his Steelers debut, had two receptions for 49 yards, along with the score, in the first half.

For more on the Steelers, check out Behind The Steel Curtain.

9:49p by Charlie Wilmoth

Read More: Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles

Original Story

The Steelers take on the Philadelphia Eagles Thursday night at 8:00 PM on FOX. Here's what to watch out for.

Ed Bouchette tweets that the Steelers' starting offense and defense will play for about a half, give or take, so we'll see a lot more of Ben Roethlisberger and company than we did in the Steelers' preseason debut against the Redskins. New wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery will make his Steelers debut, and will need to begin establishing himself in the Steelers' offense - Mike Wallace and Hines Ward are the Steelers' starters, and Antonio Brown is quickly emerging as a terrific option behind them.

Beyond that, what I'd hope to see is simply for the Steelers to play better. Their matchup against the Redskins was just a preseason game and isn't necessarily a matter of grave concern, but it's still fair to point out that the Steelers did not look like a Super Bowl team, or even an average NFL team. A couple players (Brown, Isaac Redman) who entered the game with something to prove played well, but most of the team did not.