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Pittsburgh Steelers: 3 most dangerous Raiders heading into Week 14

By Chris Halicke

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - NOVEMBER 25: Quarterback Derek Carr #4 and tight end Jared Cook #87 of the Oakland Raiders celebrate after a touchdown in the third quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on November 25, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - NOVEMBER 25: Quarterback Derek Carr #4 and tight end Jared Cook #87 of the Oakland Raiders celebrate after a touchdown in the third quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on November 25, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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OAKLAND, CA – DECEMBER 02: Tahir Whitehead #59 of the Oakland Raiders celebrates after a play against the Kansas City Chiefs during their NFL game at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on December 2, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – DECEMBER 02: Tahir Whitehead #59 of the Oakland Raiders celebrates after a play against the Kansas City Chiefs during their NFL game at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on December 2, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Tahir Whitehead

With James Conner missing this matchup with the Raiders, the Steelers will rely on Jaylen Samuels and Steven Ridley to take on much of the workload in his stead. With this being a downgrade, already good players like Tahir Whitehead stand out even more.

Whitehead is a tackling machine. He’s racked up 94 total tackles on the season so far, including seven behind the line of scrimmage. He disrupts the run game and has become arguably the biggest piece of this defense since Khalil Mack was traded to Chicago.

Next. Best, worst and most realistic playoff scenario for Steelers. dark

Even with Conner, the Steelers have not been great at running the football lately, so not having your best running back when you’re facing a great linebacker is all the more worrisome. The last thing the Steelers should want to do is become one-dimensional like they were in the game in Denver, but if the Steelers can’t establish the run, Whitehead will be a big reason why, even if Conner was able to go this week.

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