Recap From Raiders 26-17 Win Against Steelers
It's not always about style points in the NFL. Sometimes you have to win ugly, and that was the recipe for the Las Vegas Raiders for much of their 26-17 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The first half saw a lot of missed opportunities for the Silver and Black, shooting themselves in the foot on multiple drives with penalties and near-turnovers.
Without running back Josh Jacobs, they could never find any consistency running the ball, finishing with 52 yards total.
The Raiders defense stepped up in a huge way, though, allowing Pittsburgh to score only seven points in the first half
They were able to get pressure on Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger all day, with defensive lineman Solomon Thomas having two sacks.
The Raiders also didn't allow the Steelers running game to get going at all, limiting them to an even worse total than the Raiders at 39 rushing yards, which was a key we talked about going into the game.
One player who did have it going was Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, who in the absence of a running game and healthy offensive line stepped up with another clutch performance.
He finished the day having completed nearly 76 percent of his passes for 382 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 10.3 yards per attempt.
Both of those touchdowns came in the second half, one of them being a perfectly thrown 61-yard bomb to wide receiver Henry Ruggs III.
Carr also shook off what looked like could have been an injury after throwing his first touchdown to tight end Foster Moreau.
The Raiders' offensive line had a hard time shaking off the injuries they were dealing with heading into Sunday, and by the end of the game, it had only got worse.
After struggling in the first half, rookie right tackle Alex Leatherwood was ruled out of the game because of an oblique injury.
It now leaves the Raiders potentially down three of their five starters on the offensive line going forward.
Still, they were able to go on the road on a short week and beat what should be a playoff contender in the AFC for the second straight week.
It might only be two games, but the quality of those wins shows that these Raiders may finally be ready to make noise as a contender.
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