The Pittsburgh Steelers improved to 2-1 by building an early lead and leaning an impressive defense effort to beat the Las Vegas Raiders, 23-18, Sunday night.
The Steelers opened the game with the ball after the Raiders won the toss and chose to defer. They opened with a three-and-out after three straight runs, including a failed fullback dive to Connor Heyward on third and 1. P Pressley Harvin III continued his hot streak, booming a punt 57 yards to the Las Vegas 9. KR DeAndre Carter took it back three yards, and the Raiders started at their own 12.
The Raiders responded with a three-and-out of their own, and the Steelers started at their own 33 after a nice punt return by Calvin Austin III was called back due to holding on CB James Pierre on the play. Pittsburgh went three-and-out once again, and the Raiders’ second drive started at their 26-yard line.
Las Vegas picked up the initial first down of the game on a five-yard carry by Jacobs on second and one, and then WR Davante Adams caught a 19-yard pass from QB Jimmy Garoppolo. Pittsburgh seemed to recover a fumble on the next play, but it was overturned upon review. Garoppolo was short on a third-and-1 quarterback sneak, and on fourth down, Garoppolo went play-action to Adams who caught it for a 32-yard touchdown. After Daniel Carlson’s extra point, the Raiders took a 7-0 lead with 7:04 left in the first quarter.
The Raiders responded with a three-and-out drive that included a sack by OLB T.J. Watt, and then the Steelers drive stalled out after just one first down. EDGE Maxx Crosby sacked Pickett on third and 4 to end the drive.
Adams picked up two first downs on the drive, including with a 19-yard reception to move Las Vegas to the Pittsburgh 43. But two plays later, Garoppolo was picked off by CB Levi Wallace at the Pittsburgh 31.
The Steelers opened their drive with a 14-yard reception from QB Kenny Pickett to TE Pat Freiermuth, and a few plays later a first down run had an extra 15 yards tacked on due to an unnecessary roughness penalty on Crosby, but the Steelers wouldn’t pick up another first down. K Chris Boswell came out for a 43-yard try and nailed it, giving the Steelers a 10-7 lead with 8:33 left in the first half.
The Raiders went three-and-out, and the Steelers’ next drive began at their own 23-yard line. After a first-down completion to WR George Pickens, CB Jakorian Bennett was flagged for defensive pass interference on a third and 10 a few plays later to give the Steelers a first down. RB Jaylen Warren then got in on the action with an 11-yard gain, and on a third and 9 a few plays later, Pickett scrambled for a gain of 10 yards and a first down. But the Steelers’ drive would stall out there, and Boswell nailed a 42-yard field goal with 1:56 left in the first half.
The Raiders went into a two-minute drill, and they picked up a quick first down before they punted with 46 seconds left in the half. The Steelers didn’t do anything when they got the ball back, and took a 13-7 lead going into the half.
The Raiders opened the second half with a three-and-out, but a very nice punt by P A.J. Cole pinned the Steelers at their own nine-yard line. Pittsburgh quickly picked up a first down though, with an eight-yard reception by WR Allen Robinson II and then a four-yard run by RB Najee Harris. On third and five a few plays later, Pickett found Pickens on a drag route, and he was able to catch-and-run for a 32-yard gain down to the Las Vegas 42. On third and 7 two plays later, Pickett was forced to throw it away and the Steelers brought out Boswell for a 57-yard try. He banged it in to put the Steelers up 16-7 with 9:28 left in the third quarter.
On third and 1 on the ensuing Las Vegas drive, Adams picked up 19 on a short catch-and-run, but two plays later CB Patrick Peterson had his first interception as a member of the Steelers on a poorly thrown deep ball by Garoppolo, and Pittsburgh took over at its own 19.
On first down, Pickett went to Pickens for a 17-yard gain, and two plays later, Pickett went to Warren on a screen for a gain of 15. After a first-down completion to Freiermuth, Harris broke off a 17-yard run and the Steelers were in business. On the next play, Pickett went to Freiermuth for a 13-yard touchdown and Boswell’s extra point put them up 23-7 with 3:56 left in the third quarter.
The Raiders finally got a drive going, with Garoppolo finding WR Jakobi Meyers over the middle for a gain of 18 yards, and then a few plays later hitting Adams for a 12-yard gain. After a scramble for a first down two plays later, Garoppolo was sacked by DT Keeanu Benton for a loss of nine that set Las Vegas back to the Pittsburgh 36. A false start knocked Vegas back another five yards, and then a holding penalty on the next play moved the Raiders back an additional 10. Las Vegas faced a second and 34.
After two chunk gains, the Raiders were still short of a first down but faced a fourth and 5 from the Pittsburgh 22, but Garoppolo’s pass on fourth down was broken up by Wallace and the Raiders turned it over on downs. The Steelers went three-and-out though, and Harvin came out on the field to punt. The Raiders would take over at their own 20 following the punt.
Las Vegas opened the drive with a 26-yard completion to Adams, and a 10-yard gain by Hunter Renfrow gave the Raiders a first down at the Pittsburgh 38, and they picked up another on a 10-yard carry by Jacobs on the next play. Jacobs again ran for nine yards, and Las Vegas was quickly in the red zone. After a first-down Jacobs run, OLB Markus Golden got his first sack as a Steeler, forcing Las Vegas into a second and 16.
The Raiders got a fresh set of downs on the next play due to a defensive holding call against LB Cole Holcomb. A few plays later S Minkah Fitzpatrick was flagged for roughing the passer on a would-be-sack due to a helmet-to-helmet hit. On third and goal from the Pittsburgh 1, Garoppolo hit Adams for a touchdown and then converted on the two-point conversion on a pass to TE Michael Mayer. With 5:41 left, the Raiders made it a one-score game at 23-15.
Pittsburgh quickly faced a third and 8, and Pickett was incomplete over the middle to Freiermuth. Harvin then booted his worst punt of the night, and the Raiders would start at their own 48-yard-line following a 16-yard return by DeAndre Carter.
On the second play of Las Vegas’ drive, Adams picked up 12 yards and a first down down to the Pittsburgh 34. On third and 3 later in the drive, Jacobs was stopped short, and the Raiders faced a fourth down inside the Pittsburgh 30-yard line.
On fourth and 1, Las Vegas was flagged for a snap infraction. Instead of going for it, the Raiders brought on K Daniel Carlson, who hit a 47-yard try but the Steelers were flagged for a leverage penalty and the Raiders got an automatic first down at the Pittsburgh 15.
On third and 4 from the Pittsburgh 8 with 2:31 left, Garoppolo’s pass was incomplete and the Raiders brought out the field goal unit with 2:25 to go. Carlson hit a 26-yard field goal and Oakland made it a five-point game at 23-18 with 2:22 left.
The ensuing kickoff was a touchback, and the Steelers started the drive at their own 25. Harris opened up the drive with a gain of five, and then on second down he picked up another two. On third and 3, Pickett went to Allen Robinson II for a first down and gain of six which was the final play before the two-minute-warning.
The Steelers followed up that first down with three unsuccessful runs, and Pittsburgh punted it away with 23 seconds to go. Carter muffed the 56-yard punt by Harvin but ultimately recovered, and the Raiders would have 12 seconds to go 85 yards after starting the drive at their own 15.
Garoppolo threw up a duck that was intercepted by Wallace, for his second pick of the game, and the Steelers escaped Allegiant Stadium with a 23-18 win.
Pittsburgh moves to 2-1 with the win and will head to Houston next week for a matchup with the 1-2 Texans.
