One of the more intriguing matchups for Week 2 of the National Football League season is the Raiders visiting Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers at 1 pm Sunday afternoon at Heinz Field.  Both teams are 1-0 after exciting and surprising week one wins.  The Steelers went into Buffalo and upset the favored Bills by dominating the second half in all facets of the game, while the Raiders overcame a bizarre series of events to win a thrilling game over the Baltimore Ravens in overtime on Monday night. 

The Raiders are trying to improve on last year’s 8-8 finish and put together their first winning season since 2016.  Jon Gruden’s second stint with the Raiders has seen some steady improvement, but there are still serious weaknesses in the team’s makeup.  They are still struggling to put together a consistent pass rush since trading away one of the best edge rushers in the league, Khalil Mack, before the start of the 2018 season.  Mack had 9 sacks last year for the Bears, while the Raiders as a team had only 21 total sacks and finished fourth from last in the NFL in that category.  The Steelers have a brand-new offensive line with two rookies in starting positions.  The Raiders will have to take advantage of this and consistently rush quarterback Ben Roethlisberger or it could be a long afternoon for the visitors.

On offense, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr has put up some impressive numbers recently.  He has thrown for over 4,000 yards each of the past three seasons.  During that span, he has thrown for 67 touchdowns and only 27 interceptions.  He will need to have a big day against the tough Steelers defense, as Las Vegas’ running game is almost an afterthought.  Carr threw 56 times on Monday night against the Ravens, and outstanding Tight End Darren Waller had 10 catches for 105 yards and a touchdown.  The Steelers have had difficulty over the last few years covering opposing tight ends, so Waller could have a big day catching the ball on Sunday.  Pittsburgh will need to rely on their ferocious pass rush to get to Carr before he can find Waller and his other receivers.

The Steelers are trying to re-establish a running game after becoming a more pass-first team in recent years.  Against the Bills, first-round draft choice Najee Harris rushed 16 times for 45 yards and showed flashes of the brilliance he displayed in college at Alabama.  It will be tempting for Pittsburgh to want to throw the ball against the Raiders due to the visitors’ lack of a pass rush, but if the Steelers are really committed to becoming a more balanced offense, then Harris will need to have at least 20 carries.

The Steelers defense will try to put pressure on Carr with their powerful pass rush, led by all-world outside rusher T.J. Watt.  The Raiders are missing guard Denzelle Good, out for the season after suffering an ACL injury against the Ravens.  He was replacing Richie Incognito, who did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday this week.  If Incognito can’t go on Sunday look for the Steelers to try to take advantage of his replacement.  The Steelers’ defense could make it tough for Carr all day long.  The Raiders will need to at least attempt to establish some sort of rushing attack to slow down the Steelers’ rushers.  

The Raiders/Steelers clash looks to be one of the better games this week.  It will be an early test to see which of these teams could be a serious playoff contender this season.  Both teams are playing in tough divisions, so even though it is only the second week of the season this game is important to both teams.  The Raiders’ AFC West division rivals, the Kansas City Chiefs, have a tough game this week against the Steelers’ AFC North division foes, the Baltimore Ravens.   Whoever comes out on top in the Raiders/Steelers game will be in a much better position in their division than the losers will be in theirs.

Writer

-By: Damian Mastrangelo

Both the Bills and the Steelers have playoff aspirations this season.  Based on last year's performance, the Bills will be looking to at least return to the AFC Championship Game. This matchup of defending division champions proved to be a tale of two halves, with the Bills winning the first half and the Steelers dominating the second half.  Pittsburgh's second half was enough to defeat Buffalo, 23-16, in an entertaining opening game.

After the 2020 NFL regular season was played in front of nearly empty stadiums, the huge crowd in Buffalo showed how much difference a crowd makes.  The Buffalo Bills came out of the gate running at full speed with a 75-yard return of the opening kickoff.  The Steelers' defense picked right up where it left off last year, preventing the Bills from gaining a first down and holding the home team to a field goal.  

In fact, the Steelers' defense kept them in the game in a first half controlled by the Bills.  The Steelers managed only 53 yards of offense in the entire first half.  Buffalo put together only one sustained drive, that coming near halftime, culminating with a perfectly thrown touchdown pass from Josh Allen to Gabriel Davis.  

The second half was a different story altogether.  The Steelers' first drive after halftime only resulted in a field goal but covered more yardage, 62 yards, than the team had managed in the entire first half.  Their next drive ended in their first touchdown of the season, a pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Dionte Johnson, who made a beautiful catch in the end zone for the score.  The offense found a rhythm that was missing in the first half, while the Bills' offense seemed to lose the consistency it showed in its earlier touchdown drive.

A blocked punt returned for a touchdown put the Steelers up 20-10, and after the Bills cut the lead to 7 points with a field goal, the Steelers again put together a nice drive.  The resulting field goal effectively put the game away.

New Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada's squad did show more of a commitment to running the football.  Roethlisberger finished with 32 passing attempts, as compared to 21 rushing attempts for the team.  Rookie Najee Harris flashed some of the slick moves that made him a first-round draft choice this year.  It will be interesting to see if this trend toward a more balanced offense continues as the season wears on.  

The Bills offense was more focused on passing the football, with Allen attempting 51 passes while the team only rushed 25 times, with 9 of those attempts by Allen himself.  With the strong receiving corps Buffalo has, led by Stefon Diggs (9 catches for 69 yards on Sunday) the Bills offense figures to continue to be a pass-first one.   

Bills coach Sean McDermott continued his aggressive posture by going for it on fourth down three times, including on successive drives in the third quarter.  Those two attempts failed, the second one losing 7 yards on an inexplicable backward toss deep in their own backfield.  Despite this, expect the Bills to continue to operate very aggressively on fourth down this season.  

One area that didn't factor much into the game was the Steelers' rebuilt offensive line.  The Bills had two sacks on the day and did put pressure on Roethlisberger occasionally, but overall the line had a quiet day, which is a good sign for the Steelers going forward.  The Bills' offensive line was more noticeable, incurring several costly holding penalties trying to contain the Steelers' relentless pass rush.  The Bills will need to clean up those mistakes if they want to have more overall offensive consistency.  

In the National Football League very little is learned in the opening weeks of the season.  Real contenders are not yet separated from those teams that put up a couple of early wins and then fade fast.  It is important not to put too much importance on the outcome of this game, but the Steelers have to be happy with the win in Buffalo, especially the play of the new offensive line.  The Bills showed some of the characteristics that led to 13 wins and a division title last season, but they will need to show more discipline on the offensive line and get more stops at critical times from their defense if they hope to return to the AFC Championship Game for the second year in a row.

Writer

-By: Damian Mastrangelo

The NFL preseason ended for the Pittsburgh Steelers last Friday evening with a loss to the Carolina Panthers.  The Steelers finished the preseason with a record of 3-1 which is, of course, meaningless.  More important was how the team played during those games, especially in light of the changes the Steelers made over the last offseason.  Last year’s promising 11-0 start ended with a first-round playoff loss to the rival Cleveland Browns.  The retooled Steelers enter the 2021 regular season with many questions still lingering, but their four preseason games did provide some insight into the adjustments the team made.

         The focus is on the new Steelers offensive this year.  They have a new Offensive Coordinator, Matt Canada, a new feature back in first-round draft pick Najee Harris, and a completely rebuilt offensive line that no longer features perennial Pro Bowlers Maurkice Pouncey and David DeCastro.  The Steelers did show some signs of a new approach on offense.  The commitment to the running game was evident in the number of carries per game.  Harris looked especially good in his appearances and looks like he will be used not just to carry the ball, but also as a receiver in the passing game. 

         Behind Harris, the Steelers got a good look at several backs competing for jobs.  Anthony McFarland and Benny Snell returned to action, and it seems that the team is higher on McFarland.  He is likely to make the team and possibly be the first option to spell Harris.  Also putting in a strong showing in the preseason was Kalen Ballage, a free-agent acquisition.  His performance featured a 4.1 yards per carry average was impressive and he caught two passes for 17 yards, showing his versatility.  Ballage has a very good chance to make the team and even see some playing time during the regular season.

         The offensive line looks quite different than last season's version.  So far in the preseason, the new line has been more physical, especially in the running game, than last season.  For the most part, no one lineman has stood out as either particularly good or bad, which may be a positive.  Last year the line was unable to open holes for runners and was too often dominated physically in the run game.  Realistically, the best the Steelers can hope for in this year's O-line is no big mistakes in the passing game that could lead to an injury to Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and a strong performance in the running game.  So far, the line has achieved this.  Short yardage situations are not the disaster they were last season when the team was unable to gain critical first downs on third- and fourth- and short.

         Speaking of the quarterbacks, 39-year-old veteran Ben Roethlisberger looked sharp in his very limited action.  He successfully threw downfield, something he struggled with at times last year.  He also flashed some of the incredible escapability he has shown in the past.  The backup QB position most likely will once again go to Mason Rudolph, the 4th year pro.  He was inconsistent this preseason, which has been the story his entire career, but new acquisition Dwayne Haskins failed to show much of anything positive during his start against the Panthers.  Still, Haskins will most likely be the 3rd QB.  Josh Dobbs possesses great intelligence and could be an excellent coach down the line if goes that route.  Unfortunately, Dobbs doesn’t have the physical ability to excel in the NFL at quarterback.  He lacks the arm strength to make the throws he needs to at this level.

         The offense is the major question mark for the Steelers this year, but the defense promises to be among the league’s best again.  Despite losing a couple of key performers from last year's strong squad the defense remains strong all around.  Gone are Bud Dupree, Mike Hilton, and Steven Nelson, three solid performers last year.  Back from injury, this year is Devin Bush, who barely played last season.  Assuming he regains the excellence he showed in previous years, Bush will be a major upgrade in the middle of the linebacking corps.  Joining him at linebacker are a couple of recent additions, free-agent signee Melvin Ingram and arriving via a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Joe Schobert.  Ingram was hurt much of last season, but if he is healthy this year he can provide additional depth.  Second-year OLB Alex Highsmith filled in for the injured Dupree last season, and his strong performance in the preseason is very promising.  He will get a chance this year to become the next in a long line of great Steelers linebackers. 

         The defensive backfield will be anchored by Minkah Fitzpatrick, Terrell Edmunds, and the long-time veteran Joe Haden.  James Pierre showed real ability in the preseason and may become part of the regular rotation in the secondary.  Depth could be an issue at defensive back, but if the starters remain relatively healthy the pass coverage should be solid. 

         The Pittsburgh Steelers are coming off a season that began with tremendous promise but ended on a bad note with an early playoff exit.  This season the team has more questions, especially on the offensive side of the ball.  Health will be an issue, especially for a 39-year-old quarterback operating behind a rebuilt offensive line, working under a new coordinator.  The Steelers showed a lot of promise in the 2021 preseason, but big questions remain for the team as they prepare to open the regular season on September 12 at the Buffalo Bills.

Writer

-By: Damian Mastrangelo