Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Philadelphia Eagles: prediction, preview, pick to win

Pittsburgh Steelers (2-0) at Philadelphia Eagles (2-0)

KICKOFF: Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET at Lincoln Financial Field. TV: CBS, Jim Nantz, Phil Simms, Tracy Wolfson.

SERIES HISTORY: 78th regular-season meeting. Eagles lead series, 46-28-3. The Steelers have not won in their past eight trips to Philadelphia. The previous time they won there was 1965. This is only the fifth meeting since 2000. The Steelers lost to the Eagles, 21-0, in the only playoff game between these two teams in 1947.

GAMEDATE: 9/25/16

KEYS TO THE GAME: The Steelers' offense struggled to move the ball through the air in sloppy conditions against the Bengals last week, but should be more balanced in Philadelphia. RB DeAngelo Williams leads the NFL with 237 rushing yards, and there is no reason to take it easy on the 33-year-old's legs with Le'Veon Bell returning from suspension next week. Philadelphia's front seven on defense has been far more effective while not asked to spend as much time on the field as it did under former coach Chip Kelly, and enters having allowed just 24 points through two games.

This will be the toughest test to date for Eagles rookie QB Carson Wentz, who has commanding victories over Cleveland and Chicago under his belt. But the Steelers are 19-2 against rookie quarterbacks since 2004 and will bring a variety of blitzes that the young signal-caller has never seen - at least not at regular-season NFL speed. Coach Doug Pederson has done an excellent job of putting Wentz in positions to success, folding in misdirection passes, spreading the field and changing the launch point to keep defenses from honing in. The Steelers haven't blitzed much through two games, but that could change if Pittsburgh is able to bottle up the ground game and underneath passing attack and back Wentz into third-and-long.

MATCHUPS TO WATCH:

--Steelers WR Markus Wheaton vs. Eagles CB Jalen Mills: Wheaton is expected to play for the first time this season after missing two games due to a shoulder injury. Mills was pressed into action when veteran Leodis McKelvin left with a hamstring injury last week, and McKelvin remained out of practice midweek, Adams was beat over the top a few times, although Chicago wasn't able to convert on each of them.

--Steelers ROLB Jarvis Jones vs. Eagles LT Jason Peters. Jones is playing with plenty of motivation in a contract year after Pittsburgh declined to pick up the fifth-year option of his rookie deal. He has yet to record a sack, but will be a constant presence on Wentz's blind side. The 34-year-old Peters is an eight-time Pro Bowl pick and two-time All-Pro who remains one of the league's top blind-side protectors.

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: Steelers WR Sammie Coates -- The second-year receiver is developing into the offense's big-play threat. He only has four catches through the first two games, but he's averaging 38.2 yards per reception. He had catches of 56 and 44 yards to help set up two of three touchdowns the Steelers scored in last week's victory against the Bengals.

FAST FACTS: Williams needs 10 yards to reach 8,000 rushing yards for his career. Only 49 other players in NFL history have reached that milestone. ... Wentz is the first rookie quarterback since 1970 to win his first two starts of the season while throwing no interceptions.

PREDICTION: Showing veteran savvy against the Browns and Bears is one thing. The Steelers aren't exactly the Steel Curtain of yesteryear, but Pittsburgh's defense is on the rise and presents quarterbacks with wrinkles few rookies have been able to handle for four quarters without a few mistakes.

OUR PICK: Steelers, 27-19.

--Derek Harper