The Pittsburgh Steelers defense rebounded from a rough opening drive to force 3 turnovers and set the Steelers up to win handily over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 6, as Pittsburgh moved to 4-2 with a 32-13 win. RB Najee Harris had his best game of the season in the win with 14 carries for 106 yards and a touchdown.
The Steelers got the ball to start the game and picked up a first down on each of their first two plays, but the drive would stall out in Raiders’ territory, although a 3rd-and-long screen pass from QB Justin Fields to RB Jaylen Warren got them in field goal range. K Chris Boswell nailed a 52-yard try and the Steelers took a 3-0 lead with 10:19 left in the first quarter.
The Raiders then went out and completely dominated Pittsburgh’s defense, even with QB Aidan O’Connell making his first start of the season. Las Vegas was much more physical and capped the drive off with a touchdown run by RB Alexander Mattison, who had 6 carries for 25 yards on the drive along with the touchdown. Las Vegas took a 7-3 lead with 4:24 left in the first quarter. The Raiders never faced a third down on the drive.
Back-to-back completions to WR George Pickens had the Steelers across midfield on their third drive of the game, and a 15-yard run by Harris took Pittsburgh down to the 31. Fields had three straight incompletions after that, though, and the Steelers settled for a Boswell field goal to cut the Las Vegas lead to 7-6 with 12:12 left in the first half.
On 2nd-and-10 from the Vegas 46, the Steelers tried an ill-designed trick play that led to Fields getting blown up for a big loss that killed the team’s next drive, and the Raiders got the ball back with 4:37 left leading 7-6. But T.J. Watt forced a fumble on RB Dylan Laube’s first career NFL carry, and the Steelers would take over at the Las Vegas 30 after Keeanu Benton recovered.
Pittsburgh took advantage of the turnover, driving to the Las Vegas 3 -yard line with the run game, and on 4th-and-1, Fields scrambled for a touchdown. The Steelers took a 12-7 lead with 34 seconds left in the first half after failing their 2-point conversion attempt. The score would remain 12-7 at the half.
After one Raiders’ first down, the Steelers forced a punt on the opening drive of the second half, and their special teams came through as OLB Jeremiah Moon blocked AJ Cole’s punt. The Steelers would take over at the Las Vegas 9 with a chance to extend the lead.
A second-down throw was behind Fields to Jaylen Warren, and it would result in a 9-yard loss. A third-down touchdown throw from the Las Vegas 15 was wiped off the board due to Fields being over the line of scrimmage. Boswell hit a 37-yard field goal, and the Steelers would take a 15-7 lead off the blocked punt.
After forcing Las Vegas into a three-and-out, the Steelers’ next drive got kickstarted by a 26-yard run by Harris. They got themselves into a 3rd-and-18 situation following a sack, but a roughing the passer penalty against the Raiders kept Pittsburgh’s drive alive. Two plays later, Harris would run for a 36-yard touchdown and Pittsburgh extended the lead to 22-7 after Boswell’s extra point. The run gave Harris 102 yards on the day.
Las Vegas responded after the score, driving down to the Pittsburgh 6-yard line before the end of the third quarter. A 30-yard completion to WR D.J. Turner and a 12-yard completion to RB Ameer Abdullah helped the Raiders move downfield. But Abdullah fumbled on the goal line, with T.J. Watt punching out the ball for the second time in the game. The fumble was recovered by S DeShon Elliott, who returned it to the Pittsburgh 11-yard line.
The Steelers wouldn’t capitalize off the turnover, though, as their drive would stall out at their own 44. But a first down sack by Cameron Heyward knocked the Raiders back to their own 4 on the next drive, and on third down, CB Donte Jackson picked off O’Connell. The Steelers capitalized off that turnover, with Fields scoring his second rushing touchdown of the game, and Pittsburgh extended the lead to 29-7 with 8:16 left to play.
Las Vegas would score in garbage time, with O’Connell and TE Brock Bowers connecting three times on the drive before a 9-yard touchdown pass to WR Kristian Wilkerson. The Raiders cut the Pittsburgh lead to 29-13 after the failed 2-point conversion with 4:54 left in the game. The Raiders would then try an onside kick. It was recovered by S Minkah Fitzpatrick, and the Steelers would take over at the Las Vegas 36.
Pittsburgh wound up getting a field goal on the drive, with Boswell connecting from 36 yards to give the Steelers their first 30-point game of the season and extending their lead to 32-13. Las Vegas had a turnover on downs on the next drive, and the Steelers would run the clock out and leave Las Vegas with a 32-13 win.
Pittsburgh moves to 4-2 with the win, while the Raiders fall to 2-4. The Steelers will return to Acrisure Stadium next week for a Week 7 matchup against the New York Jets on Sunday Night Football.
