Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Las Vegas Raiders Preview
The Pittsburgh Steelers are set to play the Las Vegas Raiders this Sunday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Steelers will be looking to return to their initial success this season and avoid their third loss in a row. In the past two weeks, the Pittsburgh team has fallen just short against the Indianapolis Colts and then the Dallas Cowboys, losing both games by only three points. However, winning the game will be no easy feat as the Raiders are coming off a tough loss to the Denver Broncos with the final score being 34-18, and are looking to bounce back on their home turf.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are likely looking for their current first-string quarterback, Justin Fields, to be able to perform a bit better than he has during the past couple of games. However, Fields is not alone when it comes to improvement for the Steelers. The entire offensive team can be considered a work in progress, as unnecessary penalties and turnovers have plagued the team this season. One of the contributing factors to this may be the fact that the Steelers’ offensive team is particularly young, especially with several injuries taking out veterans and forcing rookies such as Troy Fautanu and Zach Frazier to step in. However, regardless of this new blood on the offensive team, there have simply just been a number of sloppy performances and careless mistakes that the Steel City team should focus on correcting before heading to Vegas.
Though the Las Vegas Raiders may be facing the Steelers, who are currently on a two-game losing streak, they certainly have their own flaws to focus on. The Vegas team’s offense got off to a strong start before ultimately sputtering out in the second half. Additionally, the Raiders share the same downfall as the Steelers, as they have managed to rack up even more penalties than their opponent, with a total of 11 in Week Five, three more than the Steelers. Additionally, the past two times these teams have faced each other, the Steelers reigned victorious over the Raiders and are currently favored to win yet again heading into this week’s matchup.
It appears that the outcome of the game will be decided by which team wants the victory more. The Steelers and the Raiders have both struggled with remaining dominant throughout all four quarters, either starting off flat before ending strong or vice versa. These two teams are incredibly similar in regard to a statistical perspective, with the Steelers ranking just ahead of the Raiders at 23rd in the league for offense with the Raiders right behind them at 24th. However, the Steelers’ defense, with the help of T.J. Watt, has earned a ranking for total defense of eighth in the league, while the Raiders trail behind at 17. This match is sure to be a close one, as both teams are looking to redeem themselves and improve their records.
