Pittsburgh Steelers 38, Philadelphia Eagles 31

By Hugo Guzman  |   Monday, August 15, 2005  |  Comments( 0 )

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The Pittsburgh Steelers were already in good spirits before they even took the field against the Philadelphia Eagles this evening. Earlier this afternoon it was announced that the team had come to terms with their standout wide receiver, Hines Ward.

Pittsburgh rode on the momentum of that positive news, putting up 14 points in the first two minutes of the game. The first touchdown came when Donovan McNabb was intercepted on the Eagles' first offensive play of the game. Cornerback Willie Williams returned the intercepted pass 10 yards for the first score.

On the very next Philadelphia Eagles possession the team was forced into a three and out. Ricardo Colclough returned the subsequent punt 66 yards for another touchdown. At this point the Pittsburgh Steelers had established a two touchdown lead despite the fact that their offense had yet to get on the field.

When Ben Rothlisberger and the rest of the Steelers starting offense did get on the field they were fairly effective. Jerome Bettis looked fairly solid, picking up seven yards on three carries. Ben Rothlisberger looked sharp on all but one of his throws. He threw one errant pass in the Steelers' first possession that should have been intercepted. It hit an Eagles defender right in the numbers. Otherwise, Rothlisberger was nifty on the ground and effective in the air ending up 2 for 4 with 13 yards and a first down run. He ended up playing in only one series.

Both defenses were stout. Neither unit allowed an offensive touchdown while the first stringers were still in the game. In the first quarter of play, the Philadelphia Eagles allowed only 29 total yards while the Pittsburgh Steelers allowed a lot of passing yards but shut down the Eagles running attack and cashed in on a defensive touchdown.

Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor made his mark on the game early in the second quarter, returning a kickoff 100 yards for a score.

Other key stats:

Pittsburgh Steelers
Antwaan Randal El 1 REC 8 YDS
Verron Haynes 4 CAR 15 YDS
Fred Gibson 1 REC 8 YDS

Philadelphia Eagles
Donovan McNabb 14/19 132 YDS 1 TD 1 INT
Brian Westbrook 4 CAR 5 YDS 2 REC 18 YDS
Reggie Brown 5 REC 52 YDS
L.J. Smith 1 REC 8 YDS 1 TD
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About Hugo Guzman

Co-founder of RealFootball365.com. Born in Argentina, of Dominican descent, living in Hoboken, but from Miami through and ...
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