Heinz Field Raided: Steelers Drop 1-1 after Home Opener Loss to Las Vegas Raiders, 26-17

After coming off a big win on the road against the Buffalo Bills last week, the Steelers returned home to Heinz Field and played against the Las Vegas Raiders. Unfortunately, the black and gold were not able to keep an undefeated record this season, losing the game 26 – 17.

The first quarter started off very slow. The possession of the ball went back and forth between both teams until the Raiders were able to make it into field goal range. Raiders kicker, Daniel Carlson, made a 46-yard field goal attempt to score the first points of the game.

Continuing into the second quarter, the Steelers were not able to get points on the board until a little over six minutes left in the half.  Steelers quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, handed the ball to JuJu Smith-Schuster, Steelers wide receiver, in the back field and he was able to run it in for a touchdown taking the lead, 7-6.

However, the Raiders were able to march down the field to the red-zone when Quarterback, Derick Carr, found Bryan Evans, Raiders wide receiver, in the end zone for a touchdown. Unfortunately, they got a flag on the play causing the touchdown not to count. They received multiple flags on the next few plays causing them to try a field goal by Carlson, and the Raiders led the game at the half, 9 – 7.

The third quarter was once again back and forth until the Raiders were able to get something going about halfway through the quarter. Carr was able to pass the ball down the field and throw a touchdown to Foster Moreau, Raiders tight end, making the score 16 – 7.

In the fourth quarter, the Steelers scored another touchdown to keep the score close at 16 – 14, but not for long. The Raiders started to pull ahead with another touchdown, followed by a field goal. This led to the final score which was 26 – 17.

With only 20 seconds left in the game after the Raiders field goal, the Steelers were left with not enough time to score.

Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin, mentioned in his postgame press conference, “We got to do a better job of planning and insulating some of our down the line guys and we got to get them ready to play better. It was obvious we didn’t play with enough detail in the second half.”

Despite the loss, the ever reliable Steelers Kicker, Chris Boswell, managed to score a 56-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, setting the record for longest kick scored during regulation play in Heinz Field’s 20-year history.

Story by: Carlin Whalen (cjw6426@psu.edu)