Oakland Raiders vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: Oakland Grades, Notes and Quotes
In a 60-minute rollercoaster ride with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Oakland Raiders displayed the two reasons doubt creeps into the minds of cynical fans and NFL analysts concerning this year’s team.
First and foremost, the Raiders defense allowed a franchise record in total yards, per Associated Press writer Josh Dubow, which deserves an independent discussion. Secondly, this young team blooming with potential turned the ball over at crucial moments to keep the Steelers on top in the second half.
The Raiders concluded this contest with five fumbles and lost three. Quarterback Derek Carr put together a gutsy performance but threw an ill-advised pass intended for rookie tight end Clive Walford in the end zone after a Steelers turnover.
Together, turnovers and poor defense put the Raiders in a bind during a high-scoring contest that ended without Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Backup quarterback Landry Jones entered the game late in the fourth quarter and went 4-of-6, for 79 yards with a late drive into field-goal range.
Despite the four turnovers, the Raiders offense continued to pump life into their winning chances, but the defense failed to prevent the Steelers from driving down the field with a backup quarterback on the final drive.
For Raider Nation, there’s much to be excited about pertaining to the resiliency on offense, but also much to agonize over when focusing on ball security and a thin secondary.
Position Grades for Raiders
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| Position | Grade |
| Quarterback | B |
| Running backs | C+ |
| Wide Receivers | A- |
| Tight Ends/H-Back | C- |
| Offensive Line | A |
| Defensive Line | C- |
| Linebackers | C- |
| Defensive Backs | D |
| Special Teams | C |
| Coaching | C- |
Quarterback: Overall, Carr played a decent game. He went 24-of-44 with 301 passing yards and four touchdown passes. His intended targets dropped passes early, which hurt his completion percentage. However, he emerged as a source for the Raiders' late rally.
Unfortunately, throwing in comeback mode eventually caught up with Carr when he threw an interception in the end zone. Based on the numbers, he put together a solid performance, but the late turnover cost the team at least three points.
Running Back: The running backs fumbled four times. The Steelers recovered two of those fumbles. Taiwan Jones’ fourth-quarter fumble led to a Steelers touchdown on the following drive.
Starting running back Latavius Murray’s ball security will likely come into focus in the upcoming week. For the second time this season, Murray struggled with holding onto the football. He exhibited a sustained spark in his step but continues to run with an upright stature that leaves him open to hits and strip-tackles.
Wide Receivers: Amari Cooper started off quietly, with a couple of focus drops, but recovered quickly in the second half. He finished with seven catches for 88 yards and a touchdown.
Crabtree continued his resurgence as option 1A in the passing attack, eclipsing 100 receiving yards with two touchdown catches. The veteran wideout jump-started the Raiders offense and consistently posed a threat to the Steelers defense.
Oakland’s passing attack received a boost with Seth Roberts’ three catches for 73 yards, which pushed the Raiders wideouts to 269 receiving yards in total for the game.
Tight Ends: Walford may want to burn the tapes from today’s game. He dropped a sure-fire first-down pass in the first quarter. The Steelers showed their physicality, knocking him out of the competition briefly in the third quarter. Finally, he watched an inaccurate throw sail past him for an interception.
Lee Smith continued to supplement blocks on the edges efficiently to help spring Murray on outside runs.
Offensive Line: The offensive line continued to dominate in the trenches. The Steelers ranked No. 6 in sacks coming into Week 9 but left empty-handed against the Raiders' pass protection. Murray also hit daylight, bursting through wide running lanes.
Defensive Line: The defensive line brought pressure but couldn’t chop down Roethlisberger, aside from one sack. The Steelers signal-caller injured his foot on the lone take down, but he managed to throw for 334 yards prior to the injury.
In a shocking development, Steelers backup running back DeAngelo Williams managed to accumulate 170 rushing yards, gashing the Raiders' No.2 run defense.
Linebackers: The linebackers deserve the second half of the blame for a porous run defense. The reinforcements behind the defensive line allowed long runs and catches in the flat. Williams caught two passes for 55 yards to go along with his 170-yard performance on the ground.
Defensive Backs: Safety Charles Woodson’s tenacity to stay on the field serves as the only positive coming from the defensive backs against the Steelers.
Steelers wideout Antonio Brown probably torched each Raiders defensive back on the field in his 284-yard performance. The Raiders didn’t have an answer for Brown, and he put up Madden video game numbers against an already-suspect pass defense.
The Raiders cannot point to garbage time for passing yards allowed in this tight matchup. Without defensive back T.J. Carrie, Oakland doesn’t have a top-tier cornerback to defend the opposing team’s best receiver.
Special Teams: Jones lost a fumble on a fourth-quarter kickoff return, which shorten the field for the Steelers' fifth touchdown drive. Oakland forced a turnover on a punt return from Brown, but Carr tossed a red-zone interception equating to a lost opportunity.
Coaching: Offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave received ample criticism for his play-calling at the end of the first half that featured two passes and one run with Murray on 3rd-and-8. The Steelers made two stops on both passing plays and stuffed the running back in the backfield on third down. Offensive play-calling casts a very small shadow compared to the glaring issues for the Raiders.
Defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. deserves the bulk of criticism for his inability to cover the Steelers’ featured offensive weapon on offense. The team clearly knew playing without Carrie became a real possibility. Oakland released defensive lineman C.J. Wilson and promoted safety Tevin McDonald to the active roster.
Whatever the defense practiced during the week failed to pan out, as Brown shattered a franchise record for the Steelers. He’s the Steelers franchise leader in receiving yards (284) in a game in an unreal performance. Head coach Jack Del Rio told the media, a better scheme could have been devised to cover Brown.
In the background, the Raiders pass rush continues to fly well below its maximum potential. For opposing quarterbacks, the Aldon Smith-Khalil Mack duo isn’t as scary as it seems on paper.
Career Lows for the Raiders Defense
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According to Dubow, the Raiders defense allowed a franchise-record 597 yards total in a game. Brown and Williams largely contributed to the damage.
In Week 8, Roethlisberger struggled in his return but found his mojo against the Raiders defense, which propelled Brown to record numbers as previously discussed.
The Raiders didn’t seem to respect the run without Steelers starting running back Le’Veon Bell in the field. On Sunday, Williams accumulated 225 yards from scrimmage in his best Bell impersonation.
Amari Cooper Enters History Books
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Cooper’s production adds some silver lining to the Raiders' future.
According to SilverandBlackPride.com writer Levi Damien, Cooper surpassed Hall Of Famer Tim Brown for most rookie receptions for the Raiders. Brown previously held the record with 43 catches. On Sunday, Cooper recorded his 45th catch.
Moral victories fall on deaf ears, but Cooper’s development far exceeds what most expected. He’s on pace to record 90 catches in his rookie campaign.
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Latavius Murray Exits in Third Quarter
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Murray endured a hard hit on a third-quarter run that took him out of the game due to concussion protocol. The Raiders starting running back ran well in terms of yards-per-carry average (5.6), but fumbled twice in the third quarter before exiting the game.
The 6’3”, 225-pound running back must learn to run with less reckless abandon for his body. It’s commendable that he’s willing to lay it all out there, but he’s going to shorten his career if he doesn’t learn to cradle his body on carries to absorb big hits.
Woodson: The Defense Let the Team Down
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According to San Francisco Chronicle writer Vic Tafur via Twitter, Woodson placed the onus on the defense for Sunday’s loss to the Steelers.
“Wow... Wow!... The defense let the team down today," said Woodson in response to Brown’s 284 receiving yards.
Again, despite the four turnovers, Oakland tied the game with more than a minute left.
In an overtime period, most would assume the Raiders offense would strike first on the scoreboard with Jones at the helm for Pittsburgh.
Unfortunately, Brown’s 57-yard reception and Williams’ 14 yards on the ground against the second-best rushing defense on the final drive put the game away. Similar to their Week 4 loss to the Chicago Bears, the Raiders failed to come up with a stop.
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All statistics are provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com, Pro Football Focus and Team Rankings unless otherwise noted.
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