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What Went Right, What Went Wrong

What went right, wrong vs. Raiders

COIN TOSS: Raiders call tails. It's tails. Raiders win the toss and elect to defer. The Steelers get the ball first.

1:18 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Steelers appeared to be set up for decent field position following a Las Vegas punt that Ray-Ray McCloud returned 15 yards. But McCloud was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct and the Steelers ended up starting at their 6-yard line.

1:26 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Steelers managed one first down but then faced a third-and-10 from their 22-yard line. Under some pressure, Ben Roethlisberger tried to get the ball to Diontae Johnson down the left sideline, but it was overthrown and intercepted by Trayvon Mullen and returned 7 yards to the Pittsburgh 39-yard line. After an 11-yard reception on first down, Derek Carr was strip-sacked by T.J. Watt, but the Raiders came out of the pile with the ball. The Raiders ended up with a 3-0 lead following a 46-yard field goal by Daniel Carlson with 3:10 left in the first quarter.

FIRST QUARTER: Raiders 3, Steelers 0

1:42 p.m. – What Went Wrong: After the kickoff following the Las Vegas field goal, the Steelers eventually moved the ball to Raiders 38-yard line where they faced a fourth-and-4. Roethlisberger couldn't find anyone open, and as he was delivering the ball by Maxx Crosby. The pass fell incomplete, and Las Vegas took possession.

1:51 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Raiders moved into position for a second field goal by Daniel Carlson, this one from 33 yards, to take a 6-0 lead with 9:34 remaining in the first half. The key play on the drive came when Derek Carr was flushed out of the pocket and took off running. Carr didn't go to slide nor in any way appear to be giving himself up, and yet when Robert Spillane came up and hit him he was flagged for unnecessary roughness.

1:59 p.m. – What Went Right: It took the Steelers 3:09 of clock time to drive 75 yards in seven plays and take a 7-6 lead on a 3-yard run by JuJu Smith-Schuster. The drive started with a 13-yard completion to Diontae Johnson that was followed by a 14-yard run by Najee Harris. But the big play came on a third-and-8 from the Raiders 46-yard line when Ben Roethlisberger threw a pretty pass down the left sideline for Johnson, who made the catch over Trayvon Mullen. Two plays later, Smith-Schuster took a handoff on a modified jet sweep, broke a tackle by Cory Littleton and got into the end zone. The Steelers led, 7-6, with 6:25 left in the first half.

2:20 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Raiders answered with a 13-play, 53-yard drive to re-take the lead, 9-7, following a 41-yard field goal by Daniel Carlson with two seconds left in the first half. Derek Carr completed a 25-yard pass to Derek Carrier for a first down at the Steelers 27-yard line. Another big play came on a fourth-and-1 from the Steelers 8-yard line when the Pittsburgh defensive front inexplicably lined up with big splits between the players and Carr took the snap and dove for 2 yards and the first down. The Raiders had a touchdown taken off the board when Alex Leatherwood was flagged for holding as Carr completed a pass in the end zone to Bryan Edwards.

HALFTIME: Raiders 9, Steelers 7

2:41 p.m. – What Went Right: The Raiders received the opening kickoff and after getting one first down on a 14-yard pass to Willie Snead, Las Vegas gained 1 yard on its next three plays. The Steelers took over on their 13-yard line following the punt.

2:59 p.m. – What Went Right: The Raiders extended their lead to 16-7 with 5:02 left in the third period, and they have Derek Carr to thank for that. Las Vegas drove 82 yards in seven plays, and on the drive, Carr completed 5-of-5 for 89 yards and the touchdown, which came on a pretty pass of 9 yards to Foster Moreau. The extra yardage resulted in the Raiders having to make up for a sack by Melvin Ingram III.

3:29 p.m. – What Went Right: A 25-yard touchdown by Najee Harris, who took a short pass from Ben Roethlisberger and broke a tackle by Dallin Leavitt and ran down the sideline to complete the play to cut the Raiders lead to 16-14 with 11:15 left in the fourth period. The play completed an 80-yard touchdown drive that also included a 52-yard completion to Chase Claypool. After the touchdown, there were offsetting penalties assessed on Trai Turner and Solomon Thomas. Turner was ejected from the game.

3:39 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Raiders used the big play to restore their lead to nine points, 23-14, with 9:35 left in the fourth quarter. On a third-and-10 from the 39-yard line, Henry Ruggs ran past cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon, Minkah Fitzpatrick couldn't get over in time, and Derek Carr delivered a perfect pass to complete the 61-yard scoring play.

3:57 p.m. – What Went Right: Chris Boswell kicked a 56-yard field goal with 3:42 remaining to cut the Raiders lead to 23-17. Now it is up to the defense.

4:04 p.m. – What Went Wrong: After Boswell's field goal, the Steelers' hopes rested with their defense, and the defense wasn't up to the challenge. Peyton Barber gained 3 yards, and then Derek Carr completed a 25-yard pass to Darren Waller for a first down. Barber ran for 13 yards for another first down. Then came the two-minute warning, and after that Barber carried three more times for 5 total yards before Daniel Carlson came in and iced the outcome with a 45-yard field goal. The Raiders led, 26-17, with 20 seconds remaining.

FINAL SCORE: Raiders 26, Steelers 17

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