Coming up short

GamebookThe Steelers rallied in the fourth quarter again, as they had in the regular-season opener, but this time they came up short. Kicker Chris Boswell’s 56-yard field goal with 3:42 left in the fourth quarter brought the Steelers back to within six in a game they had twice trailed by nine. But they were unable to get the ball back and ultimately fell to the Raiders, 26-17, today at Heinz Field. The Raiders took over at their 26-yard line after the kickoff following Boswell’s 56-yard effort and were able to drive 46 yards on seven plays in 3:22 for a 45-yard field goal by kicker Daniel Carlson, his fourth of the day, that put the game away. The Steelers fell to 1-1. The Raiders improved to 2-0.Running back Najee Harris’ first career touchdown, a 25-yard, catch-and-run score, and Boswell’s extra point brought the Steelers to within 16-14 with 11:15 left in the fourth. Harris caught a short pass from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in the flat on third-and-10 from the Raiders’ 25-yard line, eluded safety Dallin Leavitt, turned up the field at the sideline and then beat safety Jonathan Abram and safety Tre’von Moehrig with a dive to the pylon. Roethlisberger hit wide receiver Chase Claypool for 52 yards to set up first-and-10 at the Raiders’ 25. The Raiders countered with a 61-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Derek Carr to wide receiver Henry Ruggs III, who hauled in a deep ball behind cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon and free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and sprinted into the end zone. Carlson’s extra point re-established the Raiders’ lead at nine, at 23-14, with 9:35 left in regulation. The Raiders extended a two-point lead to nine by moving 82 yards on nine plays in 4:09 on their first possession of the second half. Carr hit tight end Foster Moreau for a 9-yard touchdown and Carlson’s extra point upped the Raiders’ advantage to 16-7 with 5:02 left in the third quarter. Carr completed passes to wide receiver Hunter Renfrow for 23 yards on third-and-9 from the Raiders’ 37-yard line and to Ruggs for 30 yards on second-and-9 from the Steelers’ 39 prior to the touchdown. The Raiders took a 9-7 lead into the locker room at halftime on the strength of three field goals from Carlson, the last of which split the uprights from 41 yards away with two seconds remaining in the second quarter.The 13-play, 53-yard scoring drive in 6:23 had achieved a first-and-goal at the Steelers’ 6. A false start penalty against offensive tackle Kolton Miller and a holding penalty against offensive tackle Alex Leatherwood contributed to the Raiders ultimately settling for three points. The penalty on Leatherwood nullified a 7-yard touchdown pass from Carr to wide receiver Bryan Edwards. The Steelers wiped out a 6-0 Raiders’ advantage on a seven-play, 75-yard drive in 3:09 that was finished off on a 3-yard run by wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. Boswell’s extra point gave the Steelers a 7-6 lead with 6:25 left in the second. The big play on the drive was a 41-yard completion from Roethlisberger to wide receiver Diontae Johnson to the Raiders’ 5. Cornerback Trayvon Mullen Jr. was flagged for illegal contact on the play but the Steelers declined and scored two snaps later. Carlson’s second field goal of the game, a 33-yard effort, gave the Raiders a 6-0 edge with 9:34 left in the second. The Raiders took over at their 38 after Roethlisberger threw incomplete on fourth-and-4. They faced a first-and-5 from the Steelers’ 18 following a neutral zone infraction assessed against outside linebacker Alex Highsmith but were unable to move the chains for a third time on the drive.Carlson opened the scoring with a 46-yard field goal with 3:10 left in the first quarter. The Raiders took over on the Steelers’ side of the 50 following an interception of Roethlisberger by Mullen and 15-yard return to the Steelers’ 39. The defensive response to a quick-change situation included a strip-sack by outside linebacker T.J. Watt (Raiders guard John Simpson recovered the fumble). Carr also fumbled and recovered and Leatherwood was penalized for a false start (he was lined up across from Watt) in the sequence. The scoring drive wound up covering 12 yards on five plays in 2:34. The Steelers opened without cornerback Joe Haden (groin) and inside linebacker Devin Bush (groin). Cornerback James Pierre replaced Haden and inside linebacker Robert Spillane took over for Bush in the starting lineup. Defensive end Tyson Alualu was knocked out of the game on the Raiders’ first possession (ankle). Watt left in the second quarter (groin) and did not return. Guard Trai Turner was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct and ejected after the touchdown catch by Harris. He was replaced at right guard by B.J. Finney.

Xtra Points

Coming up short