The Oakland Raiders face the Pittsburgh Steelers in a clash of old AFC titans. Both teams have fallen on some hard times and no one will mistake this meeting for the ones that took place in the 70's, but it should be entertaining nonetheless. The Steelers are riding a two game winning streak while the Raiders are coming off a bye. Coming off a bye has not bode well for the Raiders the past 10 years, as they have gone winless and have been outscored on an average of 27-14 in those games. They look to reverse those fortunes today and get back to winning again. Let's take a look at the matchups and predict a winner.
Raiders Offense vs. Steelers Defense
Terrelle Pryor spent the bye week working with QB guru Tom House in hopes to fix some mechanics and improve his pocket passing. Much of his improvement to this point in the season has been attributed to his hard work and seeking outside help and the Raiders hope the work he put in this past week will do the same. Darren McFadden is hoping the rest he received will help his hamstring feel better and get back to his old burst he had earlier in the season before the injury. He has played well against the Steelers in the past and subsequently so has the team at home. They have beaten the Steelers at home the last few times they've met. The Steelers have been playing better on defense of late but have still struggled to get impact plays. They have only two interceptions, no fumble recoveries, and only eight sacks through their first 6 games of the season.
Advantage: Steelers
Raiders Defense vs. Steelers Offense
The one bright spot this year for the Raiders has been their defense. Other than the Bronco game, they have been stout on defense and in three games, have not allowed their opponent to gain 300 yards against them. They also have all nine of their turnovers the last four games. Their main goal this week is stopping the opposition from getting TD's and instead having to settle for field goals. Pittsburgh is trying to focus more on their running game the past few weeks and that has translated into two wins.
Advantage: Raiders
Special Teams
Janikowski is still looking for consistency but is feeling more comfortable with King as his holder. Still no big returns for Jacoby Ford or Phillip Adams on the season, but are both capable of breaking one. Steelers' kicker Suisham has made all 14 of his kicks, while punter Zoltan Mesko is averaging 42.4 yards/punt. Returners Antonio Brown and Felix Jones are dangerous and explosive.
Advantage: Raiders
Prediction: Raiders 27, Steelers 21
Record to Date: 3-2
And nown you are 4-2, good job Sean! We triedbto voice it away late in the game as our teams are wont to do, but they pulled it through.
ReplyDeleteYeah they decided our defense would be able to hold an 18 point lead and decided not to throw but three passes in the second half. We need to put more trust in Pryor if we are going to beat the more talented teams in the league. Our defense looks for real though and it should be able to mask some deficiencies.
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