Las Vegas Raiders analysis vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: The brightest spots in the Week 2 win
The Las Vegas Raiders defense kept up the pressure and kept making plays. Derek Carr? The veteran quarterback more than did his part, too, consistently finding his wide receivers and tight ends and allowing them to make plays.
And the Raiders are 2-0 after a 26-17 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday at Heinz Field.
“The effort is outstanding,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said. “If you’re a Raiders fan, you really like these guys.”
It was a short week for the Raiders after a dramatic 33-27 overtime victory over the Baltimore Ravens in the season opener on Monday night.
Then the Raiders had to deal with numerous injuries and a road trip to the Eastern time zone to boot.
No problem, with plenty of bright spots emerging for the Raiders in the win.
Derek Carr puts up big numbers
Without running back Josh Jacobs, ruled out Friday because of injury (toe/ankle), Carr carried the offense.
Maybe he was helped along by a bit of an energy boost after waking up Sunday morning in the glow of alma mater Fresno State’s 40-37 win over then-No. 13 UCLA.
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Carr went out and completed 28 of 37 passes for 382 yards and two touchdowns, one of them for 61 yards to Henry Ruggs III.
His other TD went to Foster Moreau for 9 yards, but Carr briefly was lying on the grass before walking off the field on his own.
There was one thing on Carr’s mind at the time: He wondered if Moreau caught the pass. He got the answer he wanted.
“That’s an awesome quarterback,” Moreau said. “I love the guy to death.”
Ruggs, in discussing his long touchdown, said he saw the ball in the air and told himself, “Don’t drop it.”
The scoring play and subsequent PAT gave the Raiders a 23-14 lead.
“First thing is, don’t drop it,” Ruggs said. “Other than that, when I saw that one, it’s run and go get it. That’s all I can think of — and don’t drop it.”
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Carr said his teammates would enjoy the win on the plane ride back to Las Vegas, but the focus quickly will turn to the matchup against the Miami Dolphins next Sunday.
“I think the thing that gives me the confidence is that it’s not just three or four voices, like everyone after the game is like, ‘Hey, we’ll celebrate on the plane, but as soon as we land we’ll get back to work,’” Carr said.
“I learned that from John Baxter and Pat Hill at Fresno State. You celebrate all wins because they’re hard to get, but you gotta get back to work for the next one.”
Defense impressive
For the second game in a row, the Raiders defense kept putting the pressure on an opposing quarterback, with the Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger the target in Week 2.
At halftime, the Steelers had been limited to seven points and the Raiders had only allowed 31 rushing yards. The Raiders had one takeaway, four quarterback hits and three tackles for loss.
Las Vegas finished with two sacks, both by defensive tackle Solomon Thomas, a career high.
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The Raiders also had 10 quarterback hurries, seven pass deflections and four tackles for loss for the game.
Maxx Crosby had five quarterback hurries.
“I think George (Atkinson) and Jack (Tatum) ... would’ve been proud of the hits,” Gruden said of the former Raiders defensive greats. “Legal hits. They were flying around and had good vision on the quarterback. Made some tremendous plays.
Thomas was one of those playmakers with his sacks of Roethlisberger.
He was signed to a one-year deal after playing several seasons with the San Francisco 49ers.
“We want to build each week,” Thomas said. “I’m proud of these guys and I feel blessed to play alongside with these guys who have a lot of talent. We’re playing as a team and it’s fun.
“Just playing together and lock into our details and a lot of film study and a great game plan by Gus (Bradley) and the coaches and we’re just out there executing and having a good time. To start 2-0 is huge and we just want to keep stacking.”
Final analysis
It was a good win for the Raiders, when every NFL expert, including this reporter, picked the Steelers to win the NFL Week 2 game.
On a cautionary note, the Raiders have been here before — including a year ago. They started the 2020 season 2-0 but finished 8-8.
A big difference from this year to last season is the defense, energized by Bradley and his defensive coaches.
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The key, as it is for most NFL teams, is to avoid costly injuries.
Las Vegas has plenty of depth to carry it through the season, and the defense is a major early bright spot, so far providing the support that Carr and the offense will need consistently.
