Raiders vs. Steelers: What's the Gameplan for Pittsburgh?

I never thought I’d see the day, but in Week 9 of the 2015 regular season the Oakland Raiders are in the top 10 of most offensive categories in a year in which key pieces are developing into serious players for the once-hapless Raiders franchise.

Sitting at 4-3, the Raiders are set to make the dreaded cross-country trip from the West Coast to the East Coast for a showdown with the 4-4 Pittsburgh Steelers, who are severely banged up in key areas offensively.

Despite the relative struggles on offense this year, the Steelers have received an unexpectedly solid performance from the young defense throughout the 2015 season, which allowed them to steal a few games when Ben Roethlisberger was out.

Now that Roethlisberger is back in action, it’s time for the offense to pick up the slack and return to its explosive ways we saw in 2014. Unfortunately, that offense took a major hit last week against Cincinnati as running back Le’Veon Bell tore the MCL in his right knee, ending his 2015 season. 

It’s now up to DeAngelo Williams to pick up where Bell left off for the Steelers.

With the Raiders coming into town, the Steelers will have to be on top of their game on both sides of the ball. This game once looked like an easy win when the schedule was released, but that can’t be the case any longer. 

Facing quarterback Derek Carr, receivers Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree, and running back Latavius Murray is going to be no walk in the park for the Steelers defense, which has struggled to stop the pass for much of the year, ranking 26th in the league in passing defense (269.5).

The Raiders throw for the ninth-most yards per game in the league (265.9), so this should be an entertaining game.

Luckily for the Steelers, Oakland is the second-worst passing defense in the NFL, allowing more than 300 yards passing per game to their opponents. That should bode well for Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant.

Offensive Game Plan:

The Raiders are a stingy defense against the run, led by Khalil Mack and Curtis Lofton, but a lot of their success per game against the run has to do with the fact teams feel much more comfortable attacking them through the air instead of on the ground.

With no Bell, expect Pittsburgh to take to the air early and often against a relatively weak Raiders secondary outside of future Hall of Famer Charles Woodson.

As a defensive unit, Oakland loves to rotate between a 3-4 and 4-3 scheme, which depends largely on how they use Mack and Aldon Smith. Both are much more effective with their hands in the dirt coming off of the edge, based on film throughout the 2015 season.

Oakland loves to run stunts up front so that could give Pittsburgh major problems, much like the Bengals did last week. But the Raiders don’t blitz very often, largely due to their ability to create pressure with just four rushers.

Luckily for Pittsburgh, the Raiders struggle with pass coverage due to their infatuation with man coverage, which has been a staple of the Oakland franchise since the early Al Davis days.

Playing a single-high-safety look with Woodson reading the plays in the middle of the field, he leads the NFL in interceptions at 39 years old,.

With a single-high-safety look, Oakland leaves their corners on an island in man coverage. David Amerson, DJ Hayden, Neiko Thorpe and Keith McGill won’t scare anyone in man coverage, and they lack the nimble footwork, coverage awareness and speed to keep up with a guy like Brown in space.

The Steelers' star receiver should feast in the middle of the field while Markus Wheaton, Bryant and Darrius Heyward-Bey all take turns trying to take the top off of the Raiders defense.

Heath Miller should also be able to put up big numbers, as Lofton struggles mightily in pass coverage when asked to drop into space. Rookie linebacker Neiron Ball usually replaces Lofton on obvious passing downs, but he’s banged up and will likely miss this game.

Despite the Raiders putting up good numbers against the run, Pittsburgh has to establish some semblance of balance in this game. Williams is capable of putting up big numbers on the ground, so don’t be surprised if the Steelers come out pounding the rock early before opening up the playbook with play-action passes and deep shots to put the Raiders on their heels.

However, that is all counting on good protection from a banged-up offensive line with an inexperienced Alejandro Villanueva protecting Roethlisberger’s blind side. The former Army Ranger struggled in Week 8 against a productive Bengals pass rush.

Defensive Game Plan:

Despite being able to beat teams through the air with the amount of weapons Oakland possesses, the Raiders remain a power running team at heart.

With all of the improvements made across the board offensively in Oakland, the unit that goes under the radar the most is the offensive line, which has been healthy all year and given up the third-fewest sacks in the league (10) through nine weeks.

Gabe Jackson looks like a potential Pro Bowl guard inside, while Donald Penn and Rodney Hudson have brought stability and veteran experience to an underrated offensive line.

In the backfield, Murray should remind Steelers fans of Bell. I’m not saying he’s on the same level as the Steelers' running back, but Oakland has a dynamic dual-threat running back they can rely on week to week.

Then there is Derek Carr and his abundance of weapons in Amari Cooper, Michael Crabtree, Seth Roberts, Andre Holmes, Lee Smith and Clive Walford. Don’t forget Roy Helu Jr. and Taiwan Jones out of the backfield.

There is plenty of speed, size, strength and run-after-the-catch ability in Oakland, which makes tackling after the catch extremely important this week for the Steelers, who did a great job of doing just that against Cincinnati last week.

Carr throws a terrific deep ball and has grown as a QB this year by displaying good decision-making, soft touch and great anticipation. He’s a scary good QB who continues to get better each and every week.

While all of the focus will be on Cooper and Crabtree for the Steelers secondary, don’t forget about Roberts, Holmes and Walford (who I really liked as a move tight end coming out of Miami). Holmes is a major deep threat and Roberts is very slippery out of the slot. The Pittsburgh secondary definitely has its hands full.

Thankfully, the Steelers get defensive end Stephon Tuitt back this week, giving them their dominant bookend opposite Cam Heyward, who can provide pressure off the edge and up the middle.

When the Steelers have both of those guys healthy, they are able to disrupt opposing offenses with the best of them.

Although the Raiders do a good job of protecting the passer, Pittsburgh has to create pressure by rushing just four. Carr does a terrific job of dissecting blitzes and getting the ball out fast, so it will be a major cat-and-mouse game with Carr and defensive coordinator Keith Butler.

I’m not sure how you stop the Raiders offense if you’re Pittsburgh. The Raiders offensive line protects the passer and can maul in the running game. Carr can pick apart defenses with his numerous weapons and makes sound decisions with the football, based off of his low turnover numbers.

Sound tackling and good coverage down the field will have to be the game plan for the defense against Oakland.

Key Matchups:

Villanueva vs. Mack and Smith:

Villanueva was not good in Week 8 against Cincinnati. He struggled with stunts, twists and blitzes and had a hard time dealing with speed off of the edge.

Mack is a budding star in the NFL and brings plenty of speed and power off of the edge. Although he is dealing with a shoulder injury, he is expected to play.

Smith is another freak off of the edge for the Raiders, who should be able to get after Ben Roethlisberger behind a banged-up offensive line.

Antwon Blake vs. Amari Cooper/Michael Crabtree:

Blake had a solid game last week against the Bengals, but it won't get any easier for him this week having to cover Cooper and Crabtree, with Derek Carr slinging the ball all over the yard.

Cooper and Crabtree torched the Jets secondary last week, and it's safe to say the Steelers secondary isn't as good as the Jets.

Blake is no Darrelle Revis, so this could be an ugly matchup for the Steelers, who are dealing with tons of injuries in the secondary. If Blake can limit Cooper and Crabtree, then the Steelers have a good chance of winning.

Antonio Brown vs. DJ Hayden/David Amerson:

As I said earlier, the Raiders cornerbacks have poor footwork and are prone to being beaten by receivers that excel with good route running and quick feet in space.

Brown should have a field day in man-coverage against Hayden and Amerson, who struggled to contain Emmanuel Sanders a few weeks ago.

Brown is likely the best receiver the Raiders will have seen all year, and they haven’t shown they can slow down No. 1 wideouts.

Matchup X-factor:

Miller started 2015 on a hot streak without Bell in the lineup to work the middle of the field in the passing game.

With Bell now out for the year, Miller should once again be able to work freely in the middle of the field, especially against a Raiders linebacking corps that has struggled in coverage all season long against tight ends.

Miller hauled in 10 catches for 105 yards in Week 8 against Cincinnati. Expect more of that to continue in Week 9 against Oakland.

Add into the mix the fact rookie linebacker Neiron Ball likely won't be in action this week, and it will open up space for Miller to carve up the Raiders on Sunday.

Prediction: Raiders 30, Steelers 23:

Full disclosure: The Raiders passing attack is tremendous and should scare Steelers Nation.

A.J. Green went for 11 receptions, 118 yards and one touchdown last week against Blake and Co. Amari Cooper could top that.

Oakland also runs the ball very well as a team, led by Murray.

The Raiders whooped the Jets defense last week, which is head and shoulders better than the Steelers, so this one could be ugly for the members of the Black and Gold.

With no Bell, the Steelers offense will have to be on top of its game. I'm not sure it will be able to with a hobbled Roethlisberger and a patchwork offensive line.