rivalry between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Unofficially nicknamed "The Battle of Pennsylvania",[1] this is an in-state, interconference rivalry between the two NFL teams located in the state of Pennsylvania. The two teams do not meet regularly, which has been cited as a reason for the rivalry's low intensity.[2]
The rivalry is one of the oldest in the NFL, dating back to 1933.[3] During the first three decades of the rivalry, the Steelers and Eagles were in the NFL's Eastern Division and played twice annually. As a result of the AFL-NFL merger, the Steelers were placed in the AFC Central, while the Eagles were placed in the NFC East, resulting in infrequent meetings – The teams have only met 12 times since 1970. Under the current NFL scheduling formula, the teams play each other at least once every four years and once every eight seasons at each team's home stadium, when the AFC North and NFC East play one another. However, with a new 17-game schedule being introduced in 2021, it is now possible for the two teams to meet as often as every other year, depending on division placement and scheduling made two years ago.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] The teams last played in 2022, a 35–13 Eagles win in Philadelphia. They will next play in 2024, also in Philadelphia.
The Eagles lead the all-time series 49–29–3.[13] The teams have met once in the playoffs, a 21–0 Eagles victory in the 1947 Eastern Division Playoff. As the two teams are in different conferences, the only way they can currently meet in the playoffs is if they both make it to the Super Bowl. While this has never occurred, both teams have made it to their respective Conference Championship Game in 2001, 2004, and 2008, with Philadelphia advancing to the Super Bowl in 2004 and Pittsburgh winning it in 2008.
History
Early years
Both teams were officially founded in 1933,
The Great Depression
, were among the reasons the Yellow Jackets failed despite winning the NFL championship in 1926.
The first meeting between the teams was on November 19, with the Eagles winning, 25–6. The two teams would struggle their first decade in the NFL both on the field and financially, with the Steelers staying afloat mostly due to team founder
Alexis Thompson, a 26-year-old steel heir from Boston frequently described in the press as "a well-heeled New York City playboy". Thompson planned to move the franchise to Boston and play games in Fenway Park. Eagles owner Bert Bell
brokered the deal between Rooney and Thompson for $160,000, and Rooney used $80,000 of the proceeds to buy a partnership in the Eagles, which at the time was owned by Bell. The deal also involved the trade of several players between the two teams.
The two owners planned to field a combined Philadelphia-Pittsburgh team called the
Municipal Stadium
. Thompson, however, was unable to secure a place to play in Boston. After meeting with Rooney, plans changed whereby Thompson's club (ostensibly the former Steelers) would play in Philadelphia as the Eagles, while the Rooney-Bell owned team would play in Pittsburgh as the Steelers, effectively trading the two clubs between their cities.
Following the end of the war, both teams fortunes changed, with the Eagles and Steelers both clinching playoff spots in the late 1940s, including their only postseason meeting to date in 1947, when the Eagles shut out the Steelers 21–0 at Forbes Field. It would be the Steelers only playoff appearance until the Immaculate Reception 25 years later. The Eagles, under head coach Greasy Neale, won NFL championships in 1948 and 1949.
During the 1950s and 1960s, both teams success and failures would be relative to one another, to the point that both teams would be "competing" for the worst record in the NFL in 1968 and the chance to draft O. J. Simpson. Ultimately, the Atlanta Falcons had the NFL's worst record and the Buffalo Bills of the American Football League would win out on what was at that point the common draft. The Eagles, drafting third, would select Leroy Keyes while the Steelers, drafting fourth, would draft relative unknown Joe Greene. New Steelers head coach Chuck Noll would say later that the team would've drafted Greene even if it had the first overall pick, while Keyes (like Simpson a running back) was viewed by Eagles fans as more of a "consolation prize". Ultimately (Simpson's successful NFL career aside), Keyes lasted five years in the NFL; Greene would become a key member of the Steel Curtain defense and is now a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and one of two Steelers to have their number officially retired.
Results
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Season-by-Season Results
Eagles and Steelers did not meet head-to-head in 1943 and 1944 due to both teams losing players to World War II. The Steelers merged with the Eagles temporarily in 1943 as the "Steagles", and were temporarily merged with the Chicago Cardinals and were known as "Card-Pitt" in 1944, and were not scheduled to meet.
First meeting to be decided in overtime. Eagles rally from a 10-point deficit in the final 2:36, which included the Eagles recovering an onside kick to drive for the game-tying field goal at the end of regulation, and the game-winning field goal during the first possession of overtime.
Steelers hand the Eagles their first loss of the season after starting 7–0. Eagles lose Super Bowl XXXIX, while the Steelers lose AFC Championship Game preventing an all-Pennsylvania Super Bowl.