Steelers vs. Raiders: Live Game Grades and Analysis for Pittsburgh

The Steelers made it an interesting game late, but at the end of the day, they are now a 2-5 football team.

Pittsburgh again struggled to run the football and protect Ben Roethlisberger behind an offensive line that is well below average, to say the least. The defense played very well in the second half, but it was to no avail.       

Scroll below for our final game grades and analysis of the Steelers loss to the Oakland Raiders. 

Final

Steelers: 18

Raiders: 21

Positional Unit	1st-Half Grades	Final Grades
Pass Offense	D	C+
Run Offense	F	F
Run Defense	F	B-
Pass Defense	C-	B+
Special Teams	F	F
Coaching	F	F

Final Analysis

Pass Offense: It was certainly no banner day for the Steelers' offense, but the passing attack got better as the game went on. Ben Roethlisberger led the Steelers on a late drive that put Pittsburgh in a position to at least tie the game, but it was too little too late.

The Steelers struggled through the day with drops and poor line play. Todd Haley’s play-calling was unimaginative as well. There’s a lot of work to be done in Pittsburgh.

Run Offense: The Steelers finished the day with 35 yards on the ground and each one was earned by the running backs. Pittsburgh’s line couldn’t open any lanes for the backs to run through as the team continues to struggle on the ground.  

Run Defense: As bad as the Steelers run defense played in the first half, that’s how good they were in the second. Darren McFadden and company barely had any room to navigate on the ground. It was a much-improved performance from the Pittsburgh front seven.

Pass Defense: The Steelers were absolutely fantastic against the Raiders' passing attack in the second half. They pressured Pryor, who barely threw the ball, and forced Oakland into some big mistakes.  

Defensively, this team played well today and especially in the second half. But the offense just couldn’t keep up.

Special Teams: Today's was certainly the worst special teams performance by the Steelers of the season. Shaun Suisham missed two field goals inside 40 yards that could have been the difference in the game.  

Coaching: Mike Tomlin certainly didn’t have his team prepared to play in this game and, although they played much better in the second half, that’s not much of a prize. Haley’s play-calling continued to be subpar and the offensive line is an absolute joke. This coaching staff has a long road ahead of them. 

First-Half Analysis

Pass Offense: Pittsburgh has been terrible offensively against the Raiders in the first half. Ben Roethlisberger looks off, missing open receivers and the line has continued to be awful. They’ll need a huge half from their passing attack just to get back into this one.  

Run Offense: Seven carries. Eight yards. That should about sum up the Steelers rushing performance in the first half.  

Run Defense: It was an utterly awful first half by the Steelers run defense.

Oakland opened the game with a 93-yard touchdown by Terrelle Pryor. Darren McFadden added another two scores of his own on the ground.

Pittsburgh has now given up over 170 yards on the ground to the Raiders in a half. That’s embarrassing.  

Pass Defense: There has been some good and some bad for the Steelers pass defense early in today’s game. For the good, they have two interceptions, matching their season total. On the bad side of things, they have looked completely lost at certain points in this game. Stopping the run would help the secondary for sure, but they’ll need to step up.  

Special Teams: By far the worst outing by the Steelers special teams unit this season has resulted in a big Jacoby Ford punt return and a blocked punt. As if the Steelers didn’t look bad enough on offense and defense, the special teams unit is making today’s first half a trifecta of ugly performances.

Coaching: The Steelers coaching staff did a terrible job of getting their team ready to play the Raiders, and that’s led to a disastrous first half. Offensively, they look lost. Defensively, they look lost. There’s really nothing the Steelers have done well in this game.   

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