I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed. The Steelers lived in their fears against the Raiders in Week 2.
There’s no shame in losing by nine to the Las Vegas Raiders. The Steelers fought tough for most of this game, and the Raiders were coming off a nationally televised victory over Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens.
The Steelers did a good job keeping points off the board in the first half, holding the Raiders to three field goals as their own offense eventually got moving, taking a 9-7 deficit into halftime. This was manageable, and I had no complaints.
The wheels started to fall off midway through the fourth quarter. Henry Ruggs III caught a 61-yard touchdown pass from Derek Carr to put Las Vegas on top 23-14.
On the ensuing drive, the Steelers found themselves at their own 34 on fourth and one and elected to punt with 8:36 left in the fourth quarter.
While I understand the risk in the Steelers going for it so deep in their own territory, I hated this call. It felt like a surrender.
The Raiders made it a two-score game for the second time, and the Steelers chose to fold instead of showing some initiative and taking a risk. The lack of willingness to possibly fall on the sword struck me, coming from a team that was once known for gutsy calls like two-point conversions.
The Steelers’ defense forced a punt after the Raiders got the ball back, and special teams made it a one-score game again after Chris Boswell hit from 56 yards, a Heinz Field record.
I can’t help but think there would have been time to put together two scoring drives and a stop with 8:36 and two timeouts on the clock. It felt to me like the Steelers were admitting they had reached their limit by punting on fourth and short.
The offensive line has been shaken up and showed last year against Washington that they at times struggle to gain one measly yard. Mike Tomlin likely had this in mind, but I’m convinced that conservative play-calling may have made the difference in a game the Steelers lost by single digits.