Pittsburgh Steelers

Lore & Background

The rivalry is one of the oldest in the NFL, dating back to 1933. 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, as 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. The teams last played in 2024, a 27–13 Eagles win in Philadelphia. The rivalry is one of two the Steelers have with NFC East teams, the other being their rivalry with the Dallas Cowboys. Much like other rivalries between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, the rivalry is mostly fueled by the two cities being within Pennsylvania and their sociocultural differences, with Philadelphia and the neighboring Lehigh Valley and Wyoming Valley being part of the Northeast megalopolis while Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania in general being part of the Rust Belt and Appalachia. The rivalry has been unofficially nicknamed the 'Battle of Pennsylvania', the 'PA Turnpike Showdown' (referencing the Pennsylvania Turnpike, which connects the cities of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia), and the 'Pennsylvania State Championship' (a nickname coined by Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin in 2024). 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. The Eagles lead the overall series, 50–29–3. The two teams have met once in the playoffs, with the Eagles winning.

In Their Own Story

The air inside Lincoln Financial Field was thick with humidity and the roar of a sea of green. On the sideline, the Steelers' black-and-gold helmets looked like dark stones against the vibrant turf. It wasn't just another Sunday; it was a collision of philosophies. The Eagles' defense, a wall of noise and aggression, had held their ground for three quarters. But in the fourth, the tension snapped as the Steelers' quarterback launched a spiral that cut through the Philadelphia night. As the ball descended, the stadium seemed to hold its breath, waiting for the catch that would either seal a legendary victory or reignite an old wound that had never fully healed.

Reader's Guide

The first meeting between the teams was on November 19, 1933, with the Eagles winning, 25–6. The two teams would struggle their first decade in the NFL both on the field and financially. In late 1940, Steelers founder Art Rooney sold the Steelers to Alexis Thompson. Eagles owner Bert Bell brokered the deal, and Rooney used $80,000 of the proceeds to buy a partnership in the Eagles. The two owners planned to field a combined Philadelphia-Pittsburgh team called the Pennsylvania Keystoners, but Thompson was unable to secure a place to play in Boston. After meeting with Rooney, plans changed whereby Thompson's club 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. For one season in 1943, forced by player shortfalls from World War II, the two clubs temporarily merged as the Philadelphia-Pittsburgh 'Steagles'. The league only approved the merger for one year; Pittsburgh was willing to merge again for 1944 but not Philadelphia. This forced the Steelers to merge with the Chicago Cardinals (as Card-Pitt) for 1944. 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. 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 was viewed by Eagles fans as more of a 'consolation prize'. 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 numb

Did You Know?

• The Eagles lead the overall series, 50–29–3.
• The two teams have met once in the playoffs, with the Eagles winning.
• The rivalry has been unofficially nicknamed the 'Battle of Pennsylvania', the 'PA Turnpike Showdown', and the 'Pennsylvania State Championship'.
• The teams last played in 2024, a 27–13 Eagles win in Philadelphia.