There’s no easy way to say this—  it was a terrible performance by the Eagles’ “1’s” who basically got shellacked by the Steelers’ first team in the first half last night, 21-0…

Final score was 24-14, thanks to some late heroics by Mike Kafka and the clean-up crew… but we all know what Andy Reid knows…

‘We all stunk tonight,’ Reid says after Vick throws 3 INTs in Eagles’ 24-14 loss to Steelers…

Hines Ward beats safety coverage to seal the deal on the Steelers’ first-half domination of the Eagles 1’s last night at Heinz Field…

It was not pretty if you are betting on the Eagles…

Ben Roethlisberger running around, extending plays, throwing touchdowns… Hines Ward dancing in the end zone, not on the ballroom floor…. Troy Polamalu picking off a pass…. James Harrison wreaking havoc in the backfield…

Roethlisberger threw for 125 yards and a pair of touchdowns and Pittsburgh’s defense put an exclamation point to Philadelphia star Michael Vick’s miserable day, intercepting three of his passes in the first half of a remarkably easy 24-14 victory.

Yes, it’s only the preseason. But after sleepwalking through a loss to Washington a week ago, the defending AFC champions delivered a reminder to their cross-state rivals about which team from Pennsylvania has played in three of the last six Super Bowls.

“That’s the desired response we were looking for,” said Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin.

Harrison teamed with Donovan Warren for a sack while Polamalu played with his usual reckless abandon, including a 36-yard free wheeling return of an interception that ended with Vick drilling the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year in the legs with a classic open-field low-tackle.

Polamalu brushed off Vick’s hit, saying he’s hit opponents the same way plenty of times.

“I was just playing ball just like he was playing ball,” Polamalu said.

Truth be told, count me as one observer who thought Vick should have been out of the game at that point of the debacle… and should have never risked that lay-it-all-on-the-line hit against Polamalu in a preseason setting…

But things obviously got a little emotional out there…and on the coaching sidelines, too.

The halftime stats were staggering: a 23:03 to 6:57 advantage in time of possession for the Steelers, who outgained the Eagles 262 yards to 71, converted six of nine third-down opportunities and intercepted quarterback Vick three times

“As far as this game goes, it was too many turnovers and an inability to get off the field [on defense] against a good football team,” Reid said. “When you come into a good football team’s house here, you’ve got to make sure that you bring your ‘A’ game, and the Steelers did a nice job of preventing that.”

Vick completed five of 12 passes for 47 yards and a quarterback rating of 13.5. He took full responsibility afterward, admitting he pressed way too hard to make something out of nothing, knowing he would only have two quarters to make his mark.

“That’s just not the way you play football,” he said. “I let that get the best of me, and I don’t know why. I think, as a veteran of this league, you just have to understand the situation and … you just can’t press the issue the way I did tonight and make bad decisions.”

On the positive side, he was still walking upright by the time he exited, having absorbed just one sack while his protection was mostly decent. Vick even made the tackle of the night, upending Polamalu to perhaps save a touchdown. Polamalu had stepped in front of one of many ill-advised passes by Vick into double coverage and intercepted a pass at the Steelers’ 20-yard line to squelch the Eagles’ deepest penetration of the first half. He made it past midfield before Vick cut him down—a play that could have ended badly in a physical sense for Starship… Why was he even in the game at that point?

Vick hardly played like his usual self on a night in which he finished with more tackles than touchdowns. He completed just 5- of-12 passes for 47 yards and showed little of the sharpness that’s drawn praise from coach Andy Reid during training camp.

It was a frustrating end to a frustrating day for the 2010 NFL Comeback Player of the Year. He spent the morning clarifying comments he made in a “GQ” article in which he suggested NFL commissioner Roger Goodell convinced him to sign with the Eagles as a backup two years ago rather than compete for a starting job elsewhere.

Vick stressed it was his decision to sign with Philadelphia and refused to blame the mini-furor surrounding the story for his lackluster performance.

“Once I was in the game, the issue was just pressing to put points on the board,” Vick said. “I just got caught up in getting down 14-0.”

Most disturbing was the way the Eagles defense consistently folded after getting itself in prime position.

On Pittsburgh’s opening series, the Steelers faced a third-and-20 from its 30 when Cullen Jenkins broke in for a sack of Ben Roethlisberger… But Jenkins grabbed the quarterback’s facemask and turned a fourth-and-27 into a first down. Four plays later, on third-and-eight from midfield, Roethlisberger hit Amaz Battle for an 18-yard gain.

Roethlisberger then finished off the drive with a 29-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Brown on third-and-seven, pump-faking cornerback Asante Samuel out of his shoes in the process, allowing Brown to roam untouched to catch the bomb down the right sideline.

Roethlisberger finished eight-for-12 for 125 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Even though he absorbed two sacks, he faced a mostly ineffective pass rush that made life too uncomfortable for the inexperienced Eagles linebackers and safeties, who seemed a step slow all evening.

But the coup de grace came in the second quarter, when Steelers backup quarterback Byron Leftwich found Jerricho Cotchery open in a seam on the right side for a 29-yard gain on third-and-24.

Pittsburgh outgained Philadelphia 262-71 in the opening 30 minutes, taking some of the sizzle out of one of the league’s most hyped teams.

“We just have to go back to the drawing board,” said Eagles defensive lineman Trent Cole. “That’s why they call it the preseason. We’re going to get back together. We still have a great team, I don’t care what anybody says.”

While Ward, Roethlisberger and running back Rashard Mendenhall were in baseball caps by the second quarter, Vick played the entire first half…and only Reid knows why that was considered necessary.

The Steelers responded by keeping most of the starting defense on the field. Vick could do little with his arm or his legs even though Pittsburgh was forced to use a patchwork secondary thanks to injuries to corners Ike Taylor (broken left thumb) and Bryant McFadden (hamstring).

Usual nickelback William Gay and reserve Keenan Lewis started in place of the two veterans and held Jackson and others in check. Gay blanketed the speedy wideout when Vick tried to hit Jackson with a deep ball on Philadelphia’s first play from scrimmage, and Lewis easily picked off Vick when the quarterback overthrew Riley Cooper down the sideline.

At least Vince Young and Mike Kafka got some meaningful reps in the 2nd half… and they each threw some nice darts to Chad Hall, Ron Harper, Gerald Jones and Johnny Lee Higgins, each of whom needed every reception they could get to stay alive on the roster.

Whatever the case, there will be plenty to ponder for the Eagles after Thursday’s nightmare exposed an array of weaknesses that suddenly outnumber their strengths

Time of Possession: Eagles 21:09, Steelers 38:51

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS:

RUSHING-Philadelphia, Brown 6-25, McCoy 4-25, Kafka 2-24, Lewis 2-19, Vick 2-3, Young 1-2, Havili 1-0. Pittsburgh, Dwyer 13-44, Mendenhall 6-28, Redman 8-26, M.Moore 5-16, Clay 4-14, Leftwich 1-9, Roethlisberger 1-8, Dixon 1-(minus 1).

PASSING-Philadelphia, Kafka 14-19-0-160, Vick 5-12-3-47, Young 5-8-1-34. Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger 8-12-0-125, Dixon 8-11-0-90, Leftwich 4-7-0-67, A.Brown 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING-Philadelphia, Higgins 7-54, Harper 3-37, Jones 3-36, Hall 3-20, Lewis 2-48, D.Jackson 2-8, R.Cooper 1-16, McCoy 1-12, Moss 1-7, Buckley 1-3. Pittsburgh, Battle 3-47, Cotchery 2-49, Mendenhall 2-17, Grisham 2-15, A.Brown 1-29, M.Moore 1-23, Robinson 1-22, Ward 1-20, Saunders 1-14, Lyons 1-12, H.Miller 1-11, E.Greenwood 1-10, Redman 1-7, Dwyer 1-6, Gilmore 1-0.

MISSED FIELD GOALS-Pittsburgh, Waters 47 (BK), 27 (WR).