Raiders 26, Steelers 17: Reaction To A Putrid Performance

PITTSBURGH, PA — Las Vegas quarterback Derek Carr took advantage of a depleted Steelers defense to lead the Raiders to a 26-17 win Sunday at Heinz Field, but the main issue plaguing the home team continued to be its struggling offense.

Steelers cornerback Joe Haden and linebacker Devin Bush missed the game completely, while linebacker T.J. Watt and defensive lineman Tyson Alualu were injured during the contest and missed significant action. Alualu suffered a fractured ankle and likely will miss the rest of the season.

On offense, the Steelers once again failed to establish a competent running game and relied on short pass completions by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to move the football - the same strategy that led to the team's stunning collapse late last season.

Here's what NFL writers across the country wrote about the game:

• John Breech, CBS Sports: "Pittsburgh's defense failed to come up with a splash play while

  permitting six scoring drives. The Steelers offense had just one trip inside 20-yard line. They struggled to run the ball for the second time in as many weeks, with Harris gaining 38 of the team's 39 yards on the ground."

• Brooke Pryor, ESPN: "The Steelers showed they can win with a dominant defense a week ago, but when the defense was battered and not playing lights-out against the Raiders, it couldn't make up for the offensive shortcomings."

• Gary Gramling, Sports Illustrated: "(Regarding) T.J. Watt’s Absence: "The Steelers were without one of the five most valuable non-quarterbacks in football for the second half, and it showed."

• Nick Shook, NFL.com: "The Steelers are still a work in progress offensively, and a lot of it has to do with their offensive line. The Steelers had issues protecting Ben Roethlisberger. Big Ben was pressured on 13 of his 42 dropbacks, completed just 4 of 11 pressured passes, threw an interception in the process and was sacked twice by Solomon Thomas."

• Nate Davis, USA Today: "Give some love to the beleaguered Raiders defense, which limited the Steelers to 17 points and 2.8 yards per rush...The Raiders have beaten the Steelers in six of eight meetings going back to 2006."

Next up: The Steelers play the Bengals Sunday at 1 p.m. at Heinz Field.

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