The Pittsburgh Steelers better buckle up their chin straps on Sunday because the Las Vegas Raiders sound ready to go.
In his Friday press conference, Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce talked at length about tackling, or the lack thereof, from his team through its first five games. And after what Pierce believes was a solid week of practice, he expects their game against the Steelers to be physical.
“We know we’re going to need to take some Advil before and after the game, this one, because it’s going to hurt,” Pierce said Friday after Raiders practice via the team’s YouTube channel.
The Raiders are certainly not devoid of big hitters. Headlined by former Steeler Robert Spillane at middle linebacker, Las Vegas wants to play a similar style to Pittsburgh, with a physical offense and defense. The problem is that so far, neither has been holding up.
Per Pro Football Focus, the Raiders rank last in tackling proficiency, logging a league-worst 66 missed tackles. Just this last week, the team tallied 16 against the Denver Broncos.
On top of that, their desired physical brand of offense has left much to be desired in 2024. Among all 32 NFL teams, the Raiders have the third-fewest rushing yards per game and the fifth-worst rushing yards per attempt. The team that has the fourth-worst yards per carry, you ask? Yup, the Steelers.
Unlike the Raiders, the Steelers’ defense has looked impressive, giving up the second-fewest points per game. However, the offense has been underwhelming in many areas. While Justin Fields has enjoyed the best season of his career, it hasn’t translated into points. The Steelers are only the 23rd-highest-scoring offense in the league, with the 24th team being the Raiders. Pittsburgh’s lack of first-down success remains a problem even under new OC Arthur Smith.
Like the Raiders, the Steelers want to run the ball but have found little success. They average 3.7 yards a carry and have totaled just three rushing touchdowns on the year, all by Fields. That hasn’t changed the Steelers’ approach, and the team has rushed the ball 164 times this season, fifth-most in the NFL.
I’d expect the Steelers’ high-volume rushing attack to continue when they face the Raiders, especially with Las Vegas struggling to tackle. If the Raiders can clean up their tackling, expect a slow, old-school-style Steelers-Raiders game come Sunday.
