The Pittsburgh Steelers held the Las Vegas Raiders to under 20 points. Their third-down defense was strong, red zone work solid. They recorded four sacks and three takeaways. It was enough to win the day and collect the win. But it wasn’t quite enough to live up to head coach Mike Tomlin’s standards for excellence, particularly one moment.
“We could use a few more”, he said after the game, via the team’s website, when asked to assess the performance of his opportunistic defense, the question citing the number of plays that were made. “I was really disappointed [in] that fourth-and-1 touchdown, but there’s gonna be some things that disappoint us in play, certainly”.
The play in question was a punch in the gut, but fortunately came early on enough that the Steelers were able to overcome it and then some. Midway through the first quarter, the Raiders connected on a 32-yard touchdown, QB Jimmy Garoppolo finding WR Davante Adams with ease for the score.
Right on the cusp of field goal range, the Raiders lined up in 22 personnel with inches to go for a new set of downs. Using play action, Garoppolo had Adams one-on-one with Levi Wallace. Patrick Peterson got caught behind as he tried to drop back to replace S Minkah Fitzpatrick, coming down to carry the crossing route. Peterson later said that he lost the ball in the lights, but either way, it was almost a walk-in touchdown.
That was the only time the Raiders would hold the lead for the game, however. It was not a good-looking play at all, but the offense quickly responded, QB Kenny Pickett finding his connection with WR Calvin Austin III. The two combined for a 72-yard touchdown, the Steelers’ longest play in years.
The next four scores were all Pittsburgh’s, as well, even if they were mostly field goals. K Chris Boswell went 3-for-3 on the night, including one from 57 yards. He now owns the five longest field goals in franchise history.
By the end of the third quarter, they had scored 23 unanswered points, but the finish still proved to be an adventure, the Raiders scoring the final 11. They added a field goal with under two and a half minutes to play to make it a five-point game, but they would not see the ball again until there were just seconds remaining.
Still, Tomlin is right in noting the big blow that first touchdown was. Facing a possession down on the cusp of field goal range, they gave up the whole farm. Given the way the offense struggled to respond through the first two weeks, that could have been costly, but their quick-strike response likely helped pick the defense back up and let them get back to their playmaking ways. Though they could have finished stronger as well, they did salt the game with a third and final interception.
