Unbeaten Eagles challenge Pittsburgh

By DAVE GOLDBERG
ASSOCIATED PRESS
One unbeaten down, a second arriving in Pittsburgh this Sunday.
After ending New England's 21-game winning streak last week, the Steelers greet the NFL's last unbeaten team, playing Philadelphia for the Pennsylvania championship in a game that down the line might be a preview of a matchup for a much grander title.
Still, the Steelers could set their own little record, becoming the first team ever to win back-to-back games against teams 6-0 or better coming in.
"We've got a great running game, two dominant wide receivers and a young, confident, cocky quarterback back there playing his heart out," says wide receiver Hines Ward, one of many effective offensive weapons for the Steelers. "We're a hard team to beat."
The young, cocky quarterback, of course, is Ben Roethlisberger, the rookie who has won his first five starts, almost unprecedented, even for a first-round draft choice.
Eye of the storm
But the centerpiece of this game is likely to be Duce Staley, who spent his first seven years in Philadelphia, grousing from time to time about being underused. He certainly hasn't groused in Pittsburgh, where he has run for 707 yards, seventh in the NFL.
That's one reason Roethlisberger has been so successful -- opponents have to play the run. In the Steelers' 34-20 win over the Patriots last week, they ran for 221 yards, 125 by Staley, making life a lot easier for Big Ben. Staley and Jerome Bettis will be critical this week because Jim Johnson, Philly's defensive coordinator, puts together fearsome blitz packages.
This game, of course, means more to Pittsburgh than a state championship. And it means more than beating an unbeaten for the second straight week.
At 6-1, the Steelers are two games ahead of Baltimore in the AFC North and tied with the Patriots and Jets for the AFC's best record. And while it's far too early to talk about tiebreakers, their win over New England gives them one over the Patriots if it comes down to that for home-field advantage in the playoffs.
Last games difficult
The Eagles clearly are the best team in the NFC so far. They are 7-0, two games better in the loss column than the Giants, Vikings and Falcons and superior to them -- they beat New York and Minnesota handily in the first two weeks of the season.
Their last two games, against two other AFC North teams, have been more difficult. The first was an overtime win in Cleveland, the second a bruising 15-10 win over Baltimore last week.
The Steelers are playing better than either of those two.
Does a second streak end here?
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