Sunday night’s matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Las Vegas Raiders had one clear outcome. Someone’s season was going to have some serious hope. The other was going to hit the panic button. Pittsburgh and Las Vegas each came into this one at 1-1 and looking to get above .500. The Steelers were trying to stack wins while the Raiders were looking to cast aside a Week Two blowout loss to the Buffalo Bills.
In the end, it was Pittsburgh taking a happy plane ride back east. And Las Vegas players are left trying to pick up the pieces after squandering a great opportunity. Speaking to reporters after the game, players let their frustrations known.
“We’re not doing things the right way to establish a winning culture early in the season,” WR Davante Adams told reporters via Vegas Sports Today. “We gotta do something to turn it around.”
Adams certainly did all he could. A year after being shut down by the Steelers, held to only two grabs for 15 yards in a 2022 Pittsburgh victory, he exploded Sunday night. Adams finished the game with 13 receptions for 172 yards and two touchdowns, scoring deep downfield on fourth down while adding a short touchdown after boxing out CB Levi Wallace late in the game in a failed comeback bid.
Still, the result was the same. A loss. Something Adams has dealt with too often in his Raiders tenure. He wanted to come to Las Vegas and was traded for prior to the 2022 season. He had a huge year, catching 100 balls for over 1,500 yards and a league-high 14 touchdowns, but the Raiders lost their last three games and limped to a 6-11 finish.
“I don’t got time to wait around,” Adams said. “It’s not a personal thing. I mean, it is a personal thing. It ain’t just about me. But it’s not my mentality to sit here and try to take all season to figure it out.”
With the loss, the Raiders fell to 1-2 and dropped their second straight game. There was a great chance to get a leg up on the AFC West with the Los Angeles Chargers sputtering out of the gate and the Denver Broncos looking a mess, getting 70 hung on them by the Miami Dolphins, but they couldn’t take advantage.
Adams wasn’t the only one to vent his feelings out postgame. So did star DE Maxx Crosby.
“We gotta win,” Crosby said, also via Vegas Sports Today. “Shit is frustrating. But you can complain about it, or you can figure it out…guys gotta buy in. Guys gotta be locked in.”
Crosby had a strong day and got constant pressure, finishing with three tackles, two QB hits, and a sack. But it wasn’t enough as Pittsburgh’s offense moved the ball as well as it has all year long.
The Raiders will look to regroup next Sunday against the Chargers in what will be a key AFC West matchup. Barring a tie, one of these teams will drop to 1-3 and their season will be in real trouble. If Las Vegas can’t win that one, not only will player frustration continue, but head coach Josh McDaniels might legitimately be on the hot seat.
