With both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Las Vegas Raiders coming off rather frustrating losses in Week 5, something’s got to give as one of these teams has to find a way to get back on track in the Week 6 matchup at 4:05 PM/EST inside Allegiant Stadium Sunday.
A number of NFL.com analysts believe the Steelers will be the ones to get back into the win column with eight of the 10 panelists choosing the Steelers over the Raiders.
Daniel Jeremiah, Adam Rank, Marcas Grant, Bucky Brooks, Eric Edholm, Nick Shook, Grant Gordon and Kevin Patra were the analysts who chose the Steelers over the Raiders. Colleen Wolfe and Maurice Jones-Drew chose the Raiders for NFL.com.
The picks were all rather close as the average score for the Steelers in the predictions was 18.8 points, while the average score for the Raiders was just 15.1. All but Rank sees the game as a one-score contest, which is what it has largely been recently. In their last five matchups, only one was more than a one-score game, a 26-17 game that the Raiders won on the road in 2021.
Sunday in Las Vegas will mark the 33rd matchup between the two historic rivals, which includes six postseason games. The Raiders hold a 17-15 series lead, but Pittsburgh has won two straight and three of the last five.
Last season the two teams matched up in Week 3 on Sunday Night Football. The Steelers emerged victorious with a 23-18 win over the Raiders in a game in which wide receiver Calvin Austin III caught a 72-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kenny Pickett. Levi Wallace sealed the Steelers’ win with an interception of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in the final minute.
The current odds coming out of Vegas have the Steelers as three-point road favorites over the Raiders, who will reportedly be without star receiver Davante Adams due to a hamstring injury. The Steelers will be missing a number of key pieces, including outside linebackers Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig, defensive end/outside linebacker DeMarvin Leal, running back Cordarrelle Patterson, and potentially running back Jaylen Warren, tight end MyCole Pruitt and safety Damontae Kazee.
