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Six days after a spectacular overtime victory over the Ravens, the Raiders traveled to Pittsburgh and outscored the favorites Steelers. The Raiders are now 2-0 this season after Sunday’s 26-17 win. Pittsburgh is now 1-1 after losing its home opener for just the fourth time in 15 years that Mike Tomlin has coached the Steelers.
Derek Carr took full advantage of a Steelers defense that had four starters with injuries, as the three-time Pro Bowl quarterback threw for 382 yards on 28 of 37 passes. After settling for three goals from Daniel Carlson in the first half, the Raiders’ offense found the end zone twice in the second half on touchdown passes from Carr to Foster Moreau ( nine yards) and Henry Ruggs III (61 yards). After the Steelers made a one-run game with 3:25 remaining, Carr’s 25-yard completion to tight end Darren Waller set up Carlson’s fourth and decisive field goal.
Pittsburgh lost more than Sunday’s game. They may have lost defensive lineman Tyson Alualu for the season after sustaining a broken ankle in the first quarter. The Steelers also lost TJ Watt to a groin injury in the first half. Pittsburgh entered the game without starting inside linebacker Devin Bush and starting cornerback Joe Haden. Both players missed the game with groin injuries.
Here’s a full breakdown of what happened on Sunday.
Why the Raiders won
The defense of Las Vegas has had an exceptional day. Solomon Thomas had two sacks on Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who was hit several times during the game. They limited the Steelers’ offense to just 17 first downs, 331 total yards and just 5 of 12 on the third down. The unit set up the game’s first points on Trayvon Mullen’s interception on a through pass aimed at Diontae Johnson.
The Raiders had another stellar performance from Carr, whose 817 passing yards in the last two games are a franchise record. With Josh Jacobs out, Carr moved the ball around, distributing it to his playmakers, as eight different Raiders caught passes.
Las Vegas responded to the scores of the three Steelers with their own scores. Carlson’s third first-half field goal came after JuJu Smith-Schuster scored on a 3-yard rush. Carr’s touchdown pass to Ruggs with 9:35 to go came moments after Roethlisberger connected with Najee Harris on a 25-yard touchdown pass. After Chris Boswell’s 56-yard field goal (the longest in Heinz Field history), Carlson essentially ended the game with his fourth field goal of the afternoon.
Why the Steelers lost
The Pittsburgh defense couldn’t overcome the losses of Alualu, Watt, Haden and Bush. Carr attacked backup cornerback James Pierre and inside linebacker Joe Schobert throughout the game. The unit failed to come up with a splash game while still allowing six scoring discs. The Steelers offense only made one move inside the 20-yard line. They struggled to run the ball for the second time in as many weeks, with Harris gaining 38 of the team’s 39 rushing yards. Harris had an impressive stiff arm from Raiders defensive back Johnathan Abram that went viral.
Turning
Before 9-7, Las Vegas faced a 3rd and 9 key from its own 37-yard line midway through the third quarter. Carr (who started the run with an 18-yard finish to Bryan Edwards) hit Hunter Renfrow for a 23-yard finish to move the chains. His 30-yard completion at Ruggs two games later set up his 9-yard strike at Moreau that took the Raiders’ lead to nine points.
Game play
Carr’s 61-yard bomb at Ruggs came on a 3rd-10th play with the Raiders in the lead, 16-14, with less than 10 minutes to go. Despite pressure from rookie defensive back Tre Norwood, Carr stood on his feet before throwing a perfectly pitched pass to Ruggs, who caught the ball over Minkah Fitzpatrick and Ahkello Witherspoon. Ruggs – who racked up a record 113 yards receiving – now has three career touchdowns of at least 45 yards.
Quotable
“I’m not going to be a Socrates philosopher here. We are all confident. We have a confident group. We were confident last year. We lost heart broken. [games]. Heartbreaking and disgusting losses at the end of football matches. We have a long way to go. We are far from perfect. God bless you. Sorry to interrupt. “- Raiders coach Jon Gruden after Sunday’s win in Pittsburgh
Listing II
“It’s frustrating. I spent a lot of smelly time there, more than I’ve probably ever had.” – Roethlisberger (via Aditi Kinkhabwala of the NFL Network) on Pittsburgh’s offensive struggles after this offseason’s playbook overhaul
And after
The Steelers open the AFC North portion of their schedule with a home game against the Bengals. Cincinnati fell to 1-1 after losing to the Chicago Bears on Sunday 20-17. Pittsburgh has split its series of seasons with Cincinnati in 2020. Las Vegas will be heading home for a game against the Dolphins. Miami fell to 1-1 on Sunday after being routed by the Bills at home, 35-0.
Check out our live blog below to relive Sunday’s action as it unfolded.
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