Raiders/Steelers Preview: On The Road

Following a hard-fought victory in Las Vegas against the Ravens, the Raiders are forced to face the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Like the Raiders, the Steelers secured victory against a 2020 AFC playoff team in Week One. On Sunday, the Steelers defeated the Buffalo Bills. Unlike the Raiders, did so by allowing their defense to do more of the talking.

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Ferocious Front Seven

Pittsburgh’s defense recorded three sacks, while forcing four fumbles, blocking a kick, and scoring a touchdown. In 2020, the Bills stand as one of the better offenses in the game. Yet, the Steelers suffocating defense made it difficult to start the 2021 season in a similar direction. Pittsburgh kept Josh Allen moving throughout the game. Pittsburgh allowed 270 passing yards and one touchdown on fifty attempts. On the other hand, Ben Roethlisberger did not have to do too much to secure victory, throwing for 188 yards and a touchdown. With the Raiders recently banged-up offensive line, this could be a bit of an issue. Losing foundational piece Denzelle Good from the offensive line could make it a bit easier to keep the pressure up on Derek Carr.

Pressing Issue

Similar to most quarterbacks, Carr struggles when the pocket collapses. When the pocket collapses, teams resort to quick passes. But, as fans saw against Tampa Bay in 2020, if a team can flood the pocket and take away Carr’s favorite checkdown target, Darren Waller, the team can fail to move the ball in any direction except back. In the second half of the game against the Ravens, Carr did an impressive job sharing the ball amongst his receivers. It was clear that the Raiders offense was not going anywhere with Waller getting ninety percent of the target share, and adjustments were quickly made at halftime.

Diversification

This week, a target share balance amongst multiple receivers must be instituted early and often. Pittsburgh did not need the Raiders game to be nationally televised to learn that Waller is still Carr’s favorite target, and they will prepare accordingly. Carr must show that he can still drive the offense down the field with minimal, if any, help from his Pro Bowl tight end. Moving and sharing the ball appears to be more important now than ever, as the Raiders running backs recorded a combined 16 carries on Monday night. Now with Jacobs out and a stout defense opposing them, it would not be incredibly surprising to see rush attempts in the single digits.

Coachspeak

Jon Gruden committing more to the pass, especially with Jacobs seemingly unable to shake his injuries, shows that he may finally be getting with the times as the NFL becomes more and more of a passing league.