Raiders waste chance to even record and get fresh start in mistake-filled loss to Steelers
Associated Press
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Raiders coach Antonio Pierce didn’t hesitate when asked if his team is any good right now.
”Our record is what it shows. We’re 2-4 — it’s not good enough,” Pierce said after Sunday’s 32-13 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. “We’re not coaching well enough, we’re not playing well enough and we’re not detailed well enough.
“More importantly, we’re gonna keep going back to it, when you turn the ball over, you don’t give yourself a chance.”
Las Vegas had a chance to even its record and possibly get a fresh start. Meantime, the Steelers arrived on a two-game skid after opening the season 3-0, have a brewing quarterback controversy between Justin Fields and Russell Wilson and have displayed one of the more inefficient offenses in the NFL.
But the Steelers were far superior to the Raiders.
Las Vegas’ effort was littered with mistakes, including three turnovers, four penalties and a blocked punt that gave the Steelers the ball on the Raiders 9-yard line in the third quarter.
“It starts with discipline,” Pierce said. “We have four penalties, but they were at critical moments. The turnover thing is embarrassing. We don’t respect the ball enough so we don’t even deserve a chance to put ourselves in a position to win.”
Looking for a spark, Pierce handed the offense over to Aidan O’Connell, who backed up Gardner Minshew for the first five weeks.
O’Connell completed 27 of 40 passes for 227 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
One week after producing 330 yards of offense and turning the ball over three times at Denver, the Raiders mustered just 275 yards — only 57 on the ground. They scored on just 2 of 11 possessions.
“We can’t put our defense in a spot like that where we’re not running plays and we’re not on the field for very long,” O’Connell said. “We’re trying to do a better job of sustaining drives and obviously can’t turn the ball over as well, starting with myself. Just frustrating, some self-inflicted wounds.”
On the other side of the ball, the Raiders allowed Pittsburgh, which came in ranked 23rd on offense, to net 293 yards while scoring on seven of 10 possessions, not including its final drive that ended with kneel-downs.
The Steelers came in having scored on just 39.2% of their drives.
Last week, the Steelers’ longest play against Dallas was a 21-yard pass from Fields to George Pickens. On Sunday, Najee Harris tore through Las Vegas’ porous rushing defense for 106 yards on 14 carries (7.6 yards per carry), including a 36-yard touchdown run, while Fields finished 14 of 24 for 145 yards and 59 yards rushing with two touchdowns on the ground.
“I think defensively, I thought really good job in the first half tackling, and as the game went on, you saw it be a little bit more leaky,” Pierce said. “So again, really it’s work. We got to go back and get to work. It’s very cliche, but it’s true.”
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