A week after a ho-hum loss to the Washington Redskins, the Pittsburgh Steelers displayed the urgency that coach Mike Tomlin wanted to see in their 24-14 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. The Steelers scored touchdowns on their first two possessions and three of their five first half possessions. Pittsburgh dominated the first half both offensively and defensively. The Steelers outgained the Eagles 262 to 71 in the first half and 403 to 335 for the game. The Steelers who are a run oriented team rushed for 144 yards on the ground with 92 coming in the first half. In addition, the Steelers created five turnovers while not giving the ball up once. Quarterbacks The Steelers perhaps have the best quartet of signal callers in a single training camp in the history of the NFL. Each of the Steelers four quarterbacks in camp have won NFL regular season games. Ben Roethlisberger, who is extremely good at extending plays, looked in midseason form against the Eagles revamped secondary. Roethlisberger completed 8 of his 12 passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns in on Thursday night. In addition to his pure strength and mobility, Roethlisberger best asset is probably his rocket arm which he showed off on his two touchdown passes. On the Steelers first possession, Roethlisberger hit wide receiver Antonio Brown in stride for a 29-yard score after reading Dominique Rogers-Cromartie coming on a blitz. On their second possession, Roethlisberger, who was sacked once and was constantly on the move, hit Hines Ward in the back of the end zone after rolling out to his right. Byron Leftwich, who is among the best backups in the NFL, is similar to Roethlisberger in the fact that Leftwich is strong and has a cannon of an arm. The big difference between Leftwich and Roethlisberger is that the former has an elongated throwing motion and lacks mobility due to knee operations. Leftwich was efficient in his three series as he connected on four of his seven passes for 67 yards. Leftwich also excelled on third down converting three of his five opportunities. The best pass from Leftwich of the night was to Jerricho Cotchery on a seam rout for a 20-yard touchdown. Dennis Dixon, who should beat out Charlie Batch for the Steelers third string quarterback job, was much more productive than he was against the Redskins. In five possessions, Dixon ran 29 plays for 114 yards and three points. Dixon also had a touchdown pass called back as a result of an illegal formation. Dixon, who connected on 8 of his 11 passes for 90 yards, threw short to intermediate passes for the most part. Dixon did however hit Arnaz Battle for 15 yards and Armand Robinson for 22-yards. Running Backs Just as with the four quarterbacks, the quartet of running backs in camp this year may be the best the Steelers have had in years. The group is led by workhorse Rashard Mendenhall. Mendenhall is a powerful runner with the ability to explode into the line after taking the hand off. Although Mendenhall is not used that often in the Steelers passing game, he showed his playmaking ability by snatching a Roethlisberger pass one handed and turning the play into a 12 yard gain. The sure-handed Mendenhall has only fumbled five times in 635 career chances. Mendenhall is also extremely effective in goal-line situations as Mendenhall crossed the plane 13 times last year. Second-year Isaac Redman should overtake Mewelde Moore as the chief backup for Mendenhall. Redman, who is a punishing runner with an ability to break and elude tackles, has been impressive in his two preseason games. Redman followed his five carry, 42 yard performance against the Redskins with 26 yards on eight carries versus the Eagles. The numbers from Redman against the Eagles might not look impressive but he had several nice runs including one where he danced his way for 16 yards. Moore, who is an eight-year veteran, has lost a step or two though he is still a valuable as a pass catcher out of the backfield. Expect Moore to be on the field on third downs as Redman does not have elite pass catching skills. Moore also can be used as a change of pace runner. Second year pro Jonathan Dwyer led the Steelers in rushing against the Eagles gaining 44 yards on 13 carries. Dwyer probably will not see much playing time this year though it is possible he could surpass Moore on the depth chart sometime during the season. Wide Receivers There is really not much to say about the wide receivers as the top four (Mike Williams, Emmanuel Sanders, Ward and Brown) are back. Williams, who was only targeted once against the Eagles, has replaced Ward as the goto receiver for Roethlisberger though Ward is still one of the best possession receivers in the NFL. Last year, Williams became one of the most dangerous deep threats in the NFL averaging 21.0 yards per catch. Williams, who runs the 40 in 4.33 seconds, will also run underneath crosses and out patterns. The speedy Sanders, who runs the 40 in 4.4, is still recovering from off season foot surgery. Brown, who was targeted three times against the Eagles, made a terrific double move to blow past Eagles safety Asante Samuel for his only catch of the game. Tight end Heath Miller, who is an outstanding pass catcher and run blocker, and Cotchery will aid Ward in the leadership department. Cotchery is the Steelers most intriguing free agent signing as he is expected to be the fifth receiver. Cotchery, who made his Steelers debut against Philadelphia, could possibly see time in three receiver sets if Sanders or Brown fail to produce. Cotchery, who was slowed by a herniated disc last year, still has big play capabilities as evident by his 24.5 yard per catch performance against the Eagles. Offensive Line The offensive line is possibly the Steelers only shortcoming as injuries and age has taken its toll. The good news for the Steelers is that all-Pro Center Maurkice Pouncey anchors the line. The Steelers line did a fair job against the Eagles, who are known for their aggressive blitzes, though starting tackle Jonathan Scott and second-round draft pick Marcus Gilbert did suffer knee injuries. Although the Steelers rushed for 144 yards against the Eagles they only averaged 3.7 yards per carry which is not great. The offensive line also allowed three sacks, a total of five negative plays and seven hits on the quarterback (which is not bad). In addition, the line was flagged for of the Steelers penalties however three of those penalties came in the fourth quarter. Defense The Steelers defense was superb from the Eagles opening drive until the final two drives of the game. The Steelers defense was only out on the field 19 plays during the first half as they came away with three interceptions. Safeties Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark along with cornerbacks William Gay and Keenan Lewis looked the best amongst the Steelers starters. Gay, who had one tackle, blanketed Desean Jackson, who is perhaps the most dangerous receiver in the NFL, on a deep fly pattern on the opening play of the game. Clark, who registered two tackles, deflected a pass and picked off a pass, created havoc all over the field. A blitzing Clark forced Michael Vick out of the pocket and to release the ball before he wanted to on the Eagles fourth possession of the first half. The throw from Vick ended up being tipped and falling incomplete. On the next throw, Vick tried to squeeze the ball into Chad Hall, who was double covered, but the ball ended up in the chest of Lewis. Lewis, who was filling in for the injured Ike Taylor, finished the game with four tackles. Other defenders who came up with solid performances were rookie cornerback Donovan Warren and second-year linebacker Stevenson Sylvester. Warren, who combined with James Harrison on a sack of Vick, registered six tackles while Sylvester, a special teams ace, accumulated five tackles with four being of the solo variety.