NFL Week 9, 2018: Are Eagles and Steelers good?

Are the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers good football teams? Halfway through the NFL season, these two Super Bowl contenders are causing us indigestion. Can they live up to expectations? Your NFL Week 9 debate.

Halfway through the 2018 NFL season, some teams are obviously good, while others are not. But that middle, unknown ground contains two Pennsylvania heavy-hitters who were supposed to challenge for the Super Bowl. Are the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers good?

We have eight weeks of evidence in favor and against these teams, but there is little consensus in NFL Week 9. First, we will make the case for each being good and each being bad. Then we will draw our final conclusions on the Eagles and Steelers. This is your NFL Week 9 debate.

Two brothers from New York, Dan Salem and Todd Salem, debate NFL Week 9 in today’s NFL Sports Debate.

Case for the Eagles being good

They have four wins entering their bye week, just one win behind NFC East-leading Washington. Yet they lead the Redskins and the entire East in point differential. They have had to deal with a quarterback change and injury upheaval through these eight weeks. Carson Wentz has been incredibly efficient in his healthy return to the field this year. And the defense is allowing the seventh-fewest points per game in the NFL, while holding opponents to the fourth-fewest rushing yards per contest.

Case against the Eagles

Their 4-4 record has come against an incredibly weak schedule that has seen its opponents go 25-34-1 overall to this point. While Philadelphia is only half a game out of a playoff spot, there are 13 NFC teams bunched within at least one game of the postseason. Wentz has put up good numbers, but he is making major mistakes in some of these games. And the defense has not been good at all against the pass, which is much more influential than a good run defense. Also, the team doesn’t have a single signature win yet. The Eagles’ best win is probably the neutral-site victory over Jacksonville.

Conclusions

Todd Salem: Not good with potential to get good

The Eagles are not particularly good, but they are good enough to still be in playoff position because of a weak middle to the league this season. They deserve the benefit of the doubt because of their talent.

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Dan Salem: Boringly average, leading to heartbreak

Philadelphia is not a good football team, as you noted, but its even worse than that. They are in a division where the team likely stays in the playoff conversation until the final month. Hell, they could even win the division if Washington slows or the Cowboys fade completely. But the Eagles will ultimately cause heartbreak for their fans.

This is not a good or bad football team, but one that finishes in the worst possible place. There is nothing to gain from average, or a first round playoff exit. The Eagles are defending Super Bowl champions. Either you get back to the NFC Championship, or you suck for better draft picks. This team likely misses the playoffs, because I like Green Bay and Minnesota and Carolina and Seattle more for the wildcard.

Case for the Steelers being good

The Steelers lead the AFC North. They are undefeated on the road and are tied with the fourth-best point differential in the conference. Their only losses this season have come against the two best teams in the AFC by point differential, and their opponents overall are three games over .500. They have seamlessly executed an offense without Le’Veon Bell all year, and the defense has been one of the sport’s best at generating pressure.

Case against the Steelers

Ben Roethlisberger has been average. The defense has occasionally been gashed through the air. The team has essentially beaten all the bad teams it has played and lost to all the good teams, depending on how you feel about a Cincinnati road win.

Conclusions

Todd Salem: Good football team

I like Pittsburgh’s wins more than a general resume would indicate. The team hasn’t lost a beat through the absence of arguably its very best player. A rematch with Baltimore in NFL Week 9 will tell us an awful lot, but Pittsburgh is in good shape right now in the AFC.

Dan Salem: Overrated but pretty good

Pittsburgh is a pretty good football team. They have overcome a lack of defense and offensive consistency, while playing with a quarterback about to age out of the league. The Steelers are also in an average division with no one clearly better than anyone else. Cincinnati and Baltimore are not asserting themselves, and the Browns just hit reset. While I don’t love Pittsburgh, its hard to see them losing the AFC North.

Considering the weapons that this team has, they can easily overachieve in the playoffs. That being said, barring an injury to the competition, the Steelers have a slim hope of taking down the top AFC teams. Something is missing right now and his name is Le’Veon Bell.

Pennsylvania’s Final Tally

Resting comfortably between California (Rams, Chargers, 49ers, Raiders) and Florida (Dolphins, Buccaneers, Jaguars). New York (Giants, Jets, Bills) is in last.