By Paul Macrie, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 
The headlines leading up to Sunday's matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers will be mostly about Carson Wentz's first confrontation with Ben Roethlisberger, a quarterback Wentz has been compared to often during his first year.
The comparisons are fine to make. Wentz is similar in size to "Big Ben," and as we have seen during the first two games — he plays with a similar edge and physicality level to the two-time Super Bowl signal caller.
Despite the quarterback matchup being the biggest appeal to this upcoming contest, another headline that needs to be discussed is the Eagles defense facing their toughest challenge to date against an offense that very well could be the best in the NFL.
The Steelers offense will remain without the suspended Le'Veon Bell for one more game on Sunday. But his replacement, DeAngelo Williams, has filled in admirably, leading the league in rushing through two games.
Pittsburgh's wideouts are highly talented across the board as well. Antonio Brown is arguably the best receiver in the business, plus Eli Rogers – an undrafted second-year player from Louisville — and fellow second-year wideout Sammie Coates have done quite well to fill the void of the injured Markus Wheaton, who missed the first two games of the season with a shoulder ailment. Wheaton "appears ready" to make his season debut this week, however.
Pittsburgh's offense is fourth in the league in points per game (31.0), and also sixth in rushing and 12th in passing at the early juncture of the season. All of this efficiency from the Steelers offense has also been without starting tight end Ladarius Green (injured) and receiver Martavis Bryant (suspended for the year). The offensive line play has also shown improvement so far this season.
How will the Eagles defense defend a plethora of weapons that Pittsburgh displays?
Jim Schwartz's unit will have to respect the run, as Williams is the top rusher in the league right to this point in the season. The Eagles don't have a top corner that can shadow Brown. Even if the Nolan Carroll or Jalen Mills shuts down Brown, which is doubtful, the Steelers have other receivers that have shown the ability to step up.
The quarterback in Pittsburgh is one of the toughest to take down as well. In last week's win against the Bengals, Roethlisberger stared down defensive linemen who were actually tugging on his jersey on multiple occasions, and found a way to throw the ball and get it to one of his pass-catching targets.
This matchup will not allow the defensive coaches to sleep all week in preparation. Schwartz has done a great job since the summer in getting his defense ready and building an identity that opposing offenses will have to take seriously. Pittsburgh will offer an entirely different challenge, and one that will be highly difficult to figure out.
The Eagles front seven will be key in this game. They must get pressure on Roethlisberger. Getting to him is one obstacle, the other will be taking him down. Not only is he a load to bring down, but he also has sneaky elusiveness. These attributes are some of the reasons why Wentz is drawing comparisons to a player like "Big Ben."
It will be interesting to see how Schwartz's uses his blitz schemes. Getting an extra blitzer in the face of Roethlisberger is a good idea. Playing more zone coverage could help too, since the Eagles don't have corners capable of covering quality receivers such as Brown. Safeties Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod will have to give the corners help over the top.
Discipline is always a major key to success on the football field. Defensively, Philadelphia will need to show that control to beat a team such as the Steelers. Forcing a turnover or two will be vital to giving the offense prime field position. The Eagles have been able to force four turnovers during the first two contests of the season. If they can win the time of possession battle again, it will help the defense remain fresh.
The main headline this week leading up to Sunday will be the quarterback matchup. Ultimately, the Eagles best chance to win will be if their defense can contain the potent Steelers attack. It is easier said than done, but it isn't an impossible task.
