Steelers vs. Eagles Betting Preview December 15

What's being billed as a potential Super Bowl preview, the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday in their late afternoon game. The line on this game has mostly moved between 5 and 5.5 favoring the Eagles.

Important Stats

• Pittsburgh is seventh overall in defense, allowing 310.2 yards per game.
• The Steelers lead the league with a plus-17 turnover margin.
• The Steelers have reached at least 10 wins in 11 of Mike Tomlin’s 18 seasons.
• The Steelers have a 99 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to NFL.com.
• Philadelphia has clinched a playoff spot and has a three-game advantage over Washington in the NFC East.
• Saquon Barkley needs 257 yards to top McCoy’s franchise record of 2,146 yards from scrimmage, set in 2013.

Steelers Player to Watch

QB Russell Wilson has been spreading the ball around the past two weeks, connecting with eight receivers in last week’s win over the Browns a week after finding 10 targets in a win over the Bengals. Wilson will have to figure out how to continue his effectiveness against the top-ranked overall defense and second-ranked passing unit. And it’s likely that Pittsburgh’s quarterback will be without his top option, wide receiver George Pickens (55 catches, 850 receiving yards), who likely will miss his second straight game with a hamstring injury, according to coach Mike Tomlin.

Eagles Player to Watch

WR A.J. Brown was targeted just four times in last week’s win over Carolina, catching all four passes for 43 yards. Brown, apparently, wasn’t happy with such lack of production, bemoaning the passing game during a postgame interview. A day later, Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham, who is out for the season with a triceps injury, hinted at issues with the relationship between Brown and quarterback Jalen Hurts. It will be interesting to watch how many targets Brown gets this week and whether Hurts and coach Nick Sirianni choose to utilize the passing game more. Brown downplayed Graham’s comments, indicating no issues with his relationship with Hurts, at Wednesday’s interview session with reporters.
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Key matchup

Pittsburgh’s rushing defense vs. Saquon Barkley. The Steelers rank fourth in the NFL, holding opponents to 91.5 yards per game. They lead the NFL with a plus-17 turnover margin. But Pittsburgh will be tested against Barkley, who already set the Eagles’ single-season rushing record and has Eric Dickerson’s NFL mark in sight. Barkley leads the NFL with 1,623 rushing yards and eclipsed LeSean McCoy’s franchise record of 1,607, set in 2013, last week. Dickerson ran for 2,105 in 1984, and how the Steelers defend Barkley this week will go a long way to determining whether Philadelphia’s running back can break that mark.