Pittsburgh Steelers Week 3 Recap: The Battle of the Men in Black !
Tyler Yasembousky, Contributor
Ahhh nothing like the Steelers vs. the Raiders! The black & yellow vs. the black & silver. The bitter rivalry between the Steelers and the Raiders started way back in the 70s. On December 23, 1972, Steelers were able to get their first playoff win over the Raiders by Franco Harris’ ‘Immaculate Reception’. They have met several times in playoffs through 1972-1976 naming this rivalry the fiercest in the history of professional sports.
Unfortunately, Las Vegas is one of four AFC teams with a winning overall record against Pittsburgh. Let’s take a look at their record.
All-time series
Raiders lead, 17–15
Regular season series
Raiders lead, 14–12
Postseason results
Tied: 3–3
Largest victory
November 21, 2010
Steelers 35, Raiders 3
Current win streak
Steelers, 2 (2022-2023)
With the history out of the way, let’s talk about the present. The Pittsburgh Steelers came into this game with a record of 1-1 with a victory last week against the ugly mutts (browns). The raiders also had a record of 1-1 but they were coming off a beating from the buffalo bills. Their only win is against the 0-3 broncos who might just be the worst team in the league.
Still, it’s the raiders. We can’t take them lightly and especially not on the road. This was Pittsburgh’s first road game of the season. You could feel the support in the building from fans! It felt like it was at the very least 60% raiders fans and 40% Steelers fans in Las Vegas! There was terrible towels being waved around the entire building! But, it was still a game on the road.
Once again, the Steelers defense came up big time. This time had 3 huge turnovers & 4 sacks! This defense has proven itself as one of the best in the league. But, the real story of the game for Pittsburgh, there was signs of life from the offense.
For the first time in his career, Kenny Pickett had two throwing touchdowns in one game!
Let’s take a look at his stats for the game
Kenny Pickett: 16/28, 235 yards, 2 touchdowns.
The best part…ZERO TURNOVERS.
These are the kind of performances we need more of! This doesn’t take Matt Canada off the hot seat but, it will give him another week to breathe. The hero of the game just like last week and most weeks was T.J Watt. T.J Watt had two more sacks to add to his total which is now at 6 for the year! He’s averaging 2 sacks a game. He is definitely the best defensive player in the entire league (hey, just this man’s opinion).
The Raiders didn’t go out quietly and came back strong scoring 11 points in the fourth quarter. But, a bone head play call from their head coach Josh McDaniels sealed the deal. They kicked a FG when they were down 8 points. It didn’t make any sense because they still needed a score. They gave the ball back to Pittsburgh and that was all she wrote.
Pittsburgh won 23-18
The Steelers have now won two games in a row and now sit on top of the AFC North in a 3 way tie but, thanks to tie breakers we are number one.
AFC NORTH
Steelers: 2-1
Ravens: 2-1
Browns: 2-1
Bengals: 0-2 (game on Monday night)