Pittsburgh Steelers Takes On Rival Las Vegas Raiders

By: Melo Williams 

Week 3 and the Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1) is on the road vs. the Las Vegas Raiders (1-1) Sunday night making that back-to-back games in prime time for the Steelers. This is also the Raiders, a rival of the Steelers ever since the 70s, a series the Raiders lead, 17-14 so every game against the Raiders has significance.

The last time the Steelers and Raiders faced each other was December 24, 2022, the 50th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception with the Steelers getting the win 13-10.

Deep Dive:

Week 3 is a short week for the Pittsburgh Steelers after beating division rival, Cleveland Browns 26-22 on Monday night football.
Hopefully, the Steelers offense will put together a complete game this week and give the defense a breather though the the Raiders offense can be really good when all things are clicking right.

Here are the keys to victory for the Black and Gold.

Offense:

Get the offense going right away! The Steelers have only scored 33 points through two games.

Offensive coordinator Matt Canada has to be better, it’s that simple and there’s no way around that. If anything, it’s getting old saying it week in and week out now for two straight seasons. With rumors circulating that Matt Canada is on the hot seat, it might change his playcalling and start being more aggressive taking more shots downfield.

Kenny Pickett must stop being so robotic, playing stiffly, over analyzing the field, and what the defense is giving him. Pickett must do better against the Raiders separating WR 1 and WR 4, knowing when to get who going, and you simply have to give George Pickens his chances to make a play when he has 1 on 1 situation regardless if it’s downfield or quick screens and slants.

Against the Cleveland Browns, Kenny Pickett was 15-30 for 222 yards, 1 TD, 1 Int.

Matt Canada must find a way to get his talented wide receiving core some looks and Kenny Pickett has to start making the throws minimizing the interceptions being the game manager that he is.

The Raiders defense is led by edge rusher Maxx Crosby. Las Vegas is currently ranked 27th overall giving up 27 points per game, 355 total yards per game, 216 yards in the air per game, while giving up 138.5 yards on the ground per game.

Former Steelers linebacker leads the Raiders in tackles with 21 total, 12 solo tackles along with Jakorian Bennett and Nate Hobbs.

Though the Raiders brought in veteran defensive back Marcus Peters, the Raiders secondary is still susceptible of giving up the big plays downfield.

The Steelers have to capitalize on the Raider’s weaknesses in the secondary and get their playmaker George Pickens looks and opportunities to put him in the best situations to make plays which he does very well against man coverage.

Against the Browns, George Pickens had 4 receptions for 127 yards and 1 TD averaging 31.8 yards per catch. Allen Robinson II had 2 receptions for 12 yards, Calvin Austin III 1 catch for 10 yards, Miles Boykin 1 catch for 5 yards, and tight end Pat Freiermuth 1 catch for 2 yards. Diontae Johnson was out due to injury.

The Steelers backfield must get their touches as well. When Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren got their fair share of touches early on, it was mainly positive results for the Steelers’ offense, somewhat.

Najee Harris had 10 carries for 43 yards 4.3 yards per carry and Jaylen Warren had 6 carries for 20 yards, 3.3 yards per carry. If the Steelers want a chance to get their ground game, going this would be the week against the Raiders being the 49ers and Browns have good run defenses. The Raiders are giving up close to 150 yards per game so hopefully Matt Canada let Harris and Warren get adequate touches early on.

Get tight end Pat Freiermuth some looks. Usually, when Freiermuth is involved in the game plan it fares well for the Steelers.

Defense:

Though the Steeler’s defense has had its troubles getting off the field or being forced to be back on the field fairly quickly, the defense has continued to be the bright spot for the Steelers this season led by T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. Rookie Keeanu Benton has also looked good through the first two weeks of his career.

The Steeler’s secondary needs a lot of work and must take advantage of this week to improve their coverage schemes. The lack of pass coverage is the biggest thing that prevents the Steeler’s defense from being great. Though the run defense has been gashed, the passing defense has been that much worse.

I look for Pittsburgh defensive coordinator Teryl Austin to have made the proper adjustments with his secondary who has their hands full of defending wide receiver Davante Adams and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

Prediction:
Steelers win 27-20

The Steelers and Raiders are set to kick off at 8:20 p.m. ET from Allegiant Stadium.

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