One of the best matches of the week was the dramatic duel between Raiders vs Steelers that was defined at the end with a 38-35 in a game full of injuries for both teams, but the Steelers kept their playoff aspirations alive.
The Raiders lost Latavius Murray after he received a strong blow. Charles Woodson with an injured shoulder (for several weeks now) and the Steelers were not unscathed and a near heart attack when they saw Ben Roethlisberger being helped out.
The Steelers WR gave the best performance of his career by catching 17 passes for 284 yards. Brown was lethal to the Raiders defense and caught any pass. His last reception (57 yards) was putting the Steelers in position to win the game. Brown certainly remains one of the best WR in the NFL.
Raiders QB is already a phenomenon. Derek Carr is already one of the best in his position in the NFL and has only a season and a half of experience. It is true that fatal errors still exist (like the interception in the red zone), but Carr has shown a level of a veteran QB, not only with extraordinary and accurate passes (Michael Crabtree). At this time there is no pass he cannot do and has proven he can lead one of the best offenses in the NFL.
This game was vital to Pittsburgh. They have a 5-4 record and although the division already looks like a distant dream, they can still compete for a spot as a wildcard. This win will also be vital for the tiebreaker with the Raiders. Now it remains to see what the extent of the injury to Ben Roethlisberger, since the beginning of the season we saw how the team “works” without him.
Hiring Williams seems to be one of the best decisions this offseason. Former Panthers RB has managed to minimize the absence of Le’Veon Bell and against the Raiders managed 225 combined yards (170 rushing and 55 receiving) with two touchdowns. Certainly Todd Haley has rediscovered his playmakers.
There is no other way to put it. Oakland had multiple chances to win and wasted all of them. They handed the ball 4 times (including a fumble on a kickoff). It shows that it is still a young team and is the third time they let go of a win this season (Chicago and Denver were the other two games). The Raiders must learn to win these games if they are to make the leap from a regular team to a contender.
