The Pittsburgh Steelers will look to remain perfect in Week 2 by beating the (1-0) Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday at Heinz Field. Not surprisingly, the Steelers opened Week 2 on Tuesday as six-point consensus home favorites over the Raiders, according to vegasinsider.com. That line has now shrunk to 5.5-points at the time of this post, however.
The Raiders, who are coached by Jon Gruden are led offensively by veteran quarterback Derek Carr, who completed 34 of his 56 total pass attempts for 435 yards against the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night at home. Carr threw two touchdown passes against the Ravens on Monday night and one interception. He was sacked three times by the Ravens defense in that Week 1 Raiders home win.
Raiders tight end Darren Waller leads the team in receiving entering Week 2. Against the Ravens on Monday night, Waller caught 10 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown on 19 total targets. Wide receiver Bryan Edwards caught four passes Monday night for 81 yards.
Leading the Raiders in rushing entering Week 2 is running back Josh Jacobs, who registered 34 yards and two touchdowns on his 10 total carries against the Ravens on Monday night. Jacobs also caught one pass for six yards in that win against the Ravens. Jacobs’ backup, Kenyan Drake, rushed for just 11 yards on six total carries in Week 1.
Defensively for the Raiders entering Week 2, linebackers Denzel Perryman and Cory Littleton lead the team in total tackles with 10 apiece. Defensive end Maxx Crosby had two sacks against the Ravens in Week 1. The Raiders defense did not intercept any passes in Week 1 but defensive ends Quinton Jefferson and Carl Nassib both forced fumbles that Las Vegas recovered.
All-time, the Steelers and Raiders have met each other 29 times (including six postseason game), with Pittsburgh winning 13 games and Las Vegas winning 16 games. The Steelers are 2-4 against the Raiders under head coach Mike Tomlin and 2-1 against them at home.
The last time the Steelers and Raiders played was in Week 14 of the 2018 season. The Raiders won that game at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland 24-21. The last game played in Pittsburgh between the two teams was in 2015 and the Steelers won that Week 9 meeting at Heinz Field 38-35.
For his career, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is 2-5 against the Raiders all-time and 2-1 at home against them. He has thrown for 2,129 yards and 15 touchdowns against the Raiders during his career with 8 interceptions. His career passer rating against the Bengals is 99.8.
Jerome Boger will be the referee for the Sunday game between the Steelers and Raiders at Heinz Field. Additionally, CBS Sports will have Ian Eagle, Charles Davis, and Evan Washburn on the call Sunday in Pittsburgh.
