The Steelers made their Las Vegas debut in front of a raucous crowd of fans, beating the Raiders 23-18 in a very well rounded hard fought effort.
Kenny Pickett put together a workman like night. He passed for 235 yards and two touchdowns. After starting off slow and nearly getting torched for a pick six by Marcus Peters, he settled in and the game never looked too big for him. He converted when needed and made the plays. He also used his mobility to evade a fierce Raiders pass rush. It was his best game of the season, and he converted a huge third down in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter with a nifty six-yard pass to Allen Robinson to put the game close to out of reach.
The receivers had a nice night. Calvin Austin III got the start and took the lid off the Raiders defense with a quick strike 72-yard touchdown that got the Steelers on the board. George Pickens contributed with four catches for 75 Yards. Pat Freiermuth got in the box score with his first touchdown of the season, in a classically orchestrated balanced Steelers drive. The running game was mediocre again but they managed to grind out 100+ yards on the ground with Najee Harris leading the way, he had 19 carries for 65 very hard earned yards. Jaylen Warren contributed in both the passing game and the running game with 23 yards in the air and 29 yards on the ground.
The defense put together a strong performance bottling up the Raiders running game for only 69 yards, forcing three turnovers and sacking Jimmy Garoppolo four times. It should have been five as the refs blew a huge call on Minkah Fitzpatrick barreling down Jimmy G.
T.J. Watt had two sacks; Keanu Benton put together a strong performance registering his first sack of his young career. Markus Golden also had a big sack late in the game. The secondary played bend but don’t break defense. Davante Adams racked up a whopping 13 catches for 172 yards and scored both Raiders touchdowns. But the secondary rallied and had three interceptions including a nifty game sealing victory pick by Levi Wallace. He also snagged one earlier in the game. Patrick Peterson had his first pick as a Steeler.
The Special Teams were a key contributor to last nights victory! Pressley Harvin III had another big week. He averaged 53.8 yards per punt and flipped the field, pinning the Raiders down three times inside the 20. His last punt erased nearly 11 seconds off the clock and went for 63 yards. Chris Boswell is having a great comeback season; he was three for three on field goals and he absolutely hammered a 57-yarder that extended the Steelers lead.
The refs had a terrible night, calling Minkah Fitzpatrick for a personal foul penalty on a bone crunching sack of Garoppolo, it clearly was not. They also missed an obvious holding call on the Raiders two point try, opting to call for pass interference on Chandon Sullivan, it was questionable at best. It led to the Raiders inching closer and kept the game interesting.
The Steelers game plan was to stop the run and have the Raiders passing offense try and beat them…they didn’t. It was a well rounded effort on all three phases of the game and it was a good game to build off of.
BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!
My “GAME BEER” goes to: Kenny Pickett the numbers were okay, but he just made plays when they most needed it. It is the intangibles that he has that gives you hope. Honorable Mention: T.J. Watt with two sacks, Keanu Benton who played a great game and how about the reborn Pressley Harvin III.
Beer of the Game: Went with Modello straight up. Always a solid choice and it is now the number one selling beer in America. Always take it easy during night games.
“Steel the Snacks”: Las Vegas doesn’t really have a signature food, so KGB went with the classic Vegas buffet which consisted of Potato Skins and Wings. Excellent snack night for a night game. (BTW if there is something Vegas has that we didn’t address please message me)
My Stat of the week: Nothing jumped out at me, we will go with Kenny Pickett who is now 2-0 in his career v. The Raiders. There is something about him that you want to root for him.
My Thoughts on next week: This is the CLASSIC Steelers trap game that has plagued Mike Tomlin throughout his career. Houston pulled the upset yesterday with a big win over Jacksonville and the Steelers have the Ravens looming the following week. On paper this should be a big win, they need the offense to perform like it did yesterday and they will make quick work of the Texans. The key is to stay focused.
Jersey of the Week: Went with Cam “Steelhead” Heyward #97 Away, Looking forward to having him back in the lineup!