PHILADELPHIA -- Rodney McLeod feels like he's developed an idea of how to stifle the Pittsburgh Steelers' explosive offense.

The fifth-year safety was a key part of the Philadelphia Eagles defense that pushed around the Steelers in a 34-3 blowout win Sunday. The Birds clogged running lanes by winning the battle in the trenches, disrupted quarterback Ben Roethlisberger with a strong pass-rush and turned in suffocating coverage in the secondary.

Pittsburgh had averaged 31.7 points per game over its past 10 contests entering Sunday, but wound up with its lowest point total since 2011.

Even before the Eagles stymied the Steelers at Lincoln Financial Field, though, McLeod experienced a taste of success against Roethlisberger and company. Last season, McLeod's Rams held the Steelers to just one touchdown in a 12-6 loss.

And there were some similarities between how McLeod's new team and old team approached the challenge of containing Pittsburgh's attack, he said. Both the Eagles and Rams constructed gameplans focused on Antonio Brown.

But that's simple. No team wants to let Antonio Brown go unnoticed. He's racked up over 5,000 receiving yards the past three seasons and stands as perhaps the NFL's most electric wide receiver.

So there's more to it, McLeod said. His two defenses had to feel comfortable surrendering short passes to Brown. Against the Steelers, McLeod has learned, the only choice is to bend at times, because in any other case, it's so easy to break.

That's how the Eagles defended Brown on Sunday, affording him opportunities to catch short passes but blocking off routes down the field. And it worked. Brown had 12 catches but none went for more than 20 yards.

"You want to contain him and focus in on keeping him from getting those explosive plays," McLeod said. "Keep everything in front. It was an inconsistent day for him. He would be open, but then Ben couldn't get it to him. Or he would be covered and then got open for a catch, but you just got to kind of get him off rhythm."

Full stats and scoring recap

The other element of the equation is to pressure Roethlisberger. The 6-foot-5 veteran is tough to bring down and shifty in the pocket, traits that allow him to extend plays until receivers can get open.

Philadelphia took a straightforward approach to their pass-rush Sunday, defensive end Brandon Graham said.

As defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz often does, he told his front four they wouldn't be getting any help. The Eagles weren't planning on blitzing. Instead, they dropped linebackers and defensive backs in coverage, while relying on the line to generate the pressure on Roethlisberger.

The fruits of that plan emerged as the game wore on. The Birds defense sacked Roethlisberger four times and hit him on several other occasions, despite the lack of blitzes.

"We had to rush four, because you got to cover those [receivers]," Graham said. "They got a bunch of good receivers who can blow the roof off, who can go down the field. For us, it was a challenge for us, because [Schwartz] said he wasn't going to be blitzing. He just pretty much let the front four do what we do. And we did it."

As it turns out, a strong pass-rush with the front four and conservative but stingy coverage on Brown stood as the common themes between the Rams and Eagles' plan of attack against Pittsburgh, according to McLeod.

And afterward, he added, both of his defenses walked away with a similar sense of accomplishment.

-- @AaronKazreports