Raiders vs. Steelers Predictions

It's finally time again to look at this week's match-ups and this time it will be against a familiar AFC rival from the '70s. This game has once again become relevant as both teams sit atop their divisions. The Raiders are coming off a bye-week, while the Steelers are coming off a loss on Sunday night to the Patriots, in a game that wasn't a close as the score indicated. They were ripped apart by Brady and company and could give the Raiders a blueprint on how to attack this defense. The Raiders used their bye week to get healthy as they had several key players that were banged up, including Asomugha and Miller. Let's take a look at the match ups:

Raiders Offense vs. Steelers Defense

The Raiders offense is centered around their running game. Unfortunately, the Steelers defensive strength is against the run, where they have only given up 63 yards/game. This is really a match up of strength against strength and weakness against weakness. The Raiders are 12th overall on offense while the Steelers are 9th overall on defense. The Raiders are second in rush offense, the Steelers are first in rush defense. The Raiders are 25th in pass offense and the Steelers are 26th in pass defense. It'll be interesting to see what transpires. Will the Raiders be able to run the ball with effectiveness or will they be able to really throw the ball well? One will surely give way to the other.

Advantage: Steelers

Raiders Defense vs. Steelers offense

This is one area that may catch people by surprise. The Raiders are arguably a better defense this year than the Steelers. They are currently 6th overall, while the Steelers rank 9th. The Raiders are 2nd against the pass, while the Steelers strength is against the run where they rank first. The Raiders run defense is 24th overall while the Steelers weakness is against the pass, where they rank 26th. So you could argue that the only difference between the two defenses is the emphasis on what they attempt to stop. The Raiders are extremely good against the pass and the Steelers are extremely good against the run. The Raiders actually have a better overall defense if you look at yards given up per game. The Steelers offense is much like the Raiders offense as well. They look to run the ball and try to catch you off guard with big plays down the field. They haven't been extremely good at yardage on the year as they currently rank 24th in overall offense, 13th in rushing and 22nd in passing.

Advantage: Raiders

Special Teams

Seeing as how the Raiders have the number one scorer in the NFL in SeaBass and the Steelers just released their kicker this week, it's not a stretch to say the Raiders are the better Special Teams unit. Lechler is first in Punt Average and Net Average. Where the Steelers excel at is kickoff returns, where they average 26.8 yards per kickoff return, good for 4th in the NFL. This game is so close as far as match-ups that it will most likely come down to a special teams play or a defensive TD.

Advantage: Raiders

Prediction: Raiders 21, Steelers 20