Raiders Will Outlast Steelers On Sunday Night Football

Steelers vs. Raiders, 8:20 ET

Sunday Night Football is always one of my favorite games of the week. See, after a long day of watching football, you get a night cap to watch more football. The thing is Redzone takes my attention all day long so then it is nice to only be focused on one game instead of literally every game. While these two teams might not be in the playoffs at the end of the year, I think there is intrigue with both as they both look to improve to 2-1.

If ever there was a game that could end in a tie, I think it could be this one. The Steelers are heading to Las Vegas to take on the Raiders and the similarities between the teams is interesting to me. Right now the Steelers are coming off of a win against the division rival Browns. This was a game that they somewhat were lucky to win. Nick Chubb was hurt during the game and is now out for the season. I still think the Browns win if they had him in the game. I know a lot of people think running backs don't matter, but Chubb is a more involved and talented player for the Browns. In any case, the Steelers opened the year against the 49ers and were embarrassed. On Monday Night Football, the Steelers did just enough to take the win. The offense, at least the passing game, looked a lot better as they gained 222 yards and one massive touchdown. If Kenny Pickett can establish a good relationship with George Pickens, they might be able to pick apart the Raiders secondary. I'm a bit concerned about the running game of the Steelers, but I'll reserve judgment until after this game. If they can't run on the Raiders, they probably can't run on anyone.

The Raiders turned the ball over to Jimmy Garoppolo after moving on from Derek Carr last season. The weapons of Las Vegas are almost certainly better than what the Steelers are putting on the field, but none of them are consistently great. Davante Adams is the only guy that you can depend on week to week, but he is reliant on his quarterback getting the ball to him in the right spots. Defensively, the Raiders can be exposed, just like they were last week against the Bills. You do need to give them a bit of a break because the offense did them no favors by committing three turnovers. If your offense is giving the other team good field position it just makes your life harder. The Raiders have two big things going for them in this game: they are the home team, and they are playing the Steelers on short rest and they need to travel. The Raiders had to travel home, but they have been in Las Vegas all week for practice so that's not as big of a deal in my opinion. If they can find a way to expose the secondary of the Steelers and Garoppolo doesn't make any dumb throws, they should be able to win this game. I don't expect a bit game out of Josh Jacobs, but they have to keep consistent with him to try and break down the defensive line a bit.

The Raiders are short home favorites in this game and I think they should cover the game. At just -2.5 we are just looking for a field goal win, and I wouldn't be surprised if it is a late one. Neither quarterback is great, but I think Garoppolo is more likely to lead a winning drive. Even last week, the Steelers needed a fumble return for a touchdown to win the game. I'll take a shot on the Raiders in this one.

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