A Defensive Battle Settles in For a Crazy Finish
Garoppolo challenged Pickett’s poor performance with more of his own as the Raiders unceremoniously went three and out on their first drive of the second half.
The defensive battle is on.
Not to be outdone, Pickett and the Steelers go three and out for the first time. Both defenses look good, but the quarterbacks are so painfully inaccurate, the game is hitting the snooze button.
On the first play of the Raiders' next drive, Josh Jacobs has a step on a wheel route that would have scored if Garoppolo hadn’t overthrew him. The Raiders settle for a 10-yard pick-up by Adams on the next play to move the chains for the first time after halftime. Three plays later, TJ Watt made his presence felt with his first sack of the game to force another Las Vegas punt.
The Steelers quickly get to third down and Maxx Crosby looks to make his own impact, hitting Pickett as he threw, sending the ball into the hands of Divine Deablo.
Garoppolo missed his first two passes and this third down ends the same as the previous for Las Vegas: a TJ Watt sack.
The fourth quarter started on the Steelers' second play of the next drive with the score still holding even at 7. On that play, Pickett found Allen Robinson for a 24-yard gain to get the Steelers across the 50. A few plays later, Pat Freiermuth dropped a potentially big play over the middle on third down. Boswell’s next attempt from 57 is also too far right.
Las Vegas took better advantage of the field position, quickly converting on a Josh Jacobs first-down run. Garoppolo followed that up by hitting Foster Moreau for a 19-yard pass to get Vegas into scoring position. On the next play, Garopollo hit Jakobi Meyers on a post route, squeezing the pass between Patrick Peterson and Demontae Kazee for a 22-yard touchdown. With 2:49 on the clock, the Raiders take their first lead of the game, 14-7.
Pickett completed two straight passes to get the Steelers to the two-minute warning. Two plays later, Pickett hit Freiermuth over the middle for a first down to cross the 50. Pickett missed his next pass and nearly threw a pick on the following play. On third and 10, Pickett missed Pickens on a would-be touchdown go route. On fourth down, Pickett was forced to roll to his left as he launched the ball deep to Pickens who came back to secure the ball at the 11-yard line. The very next pass hit Robinson for a game-tying touchdown. The Steelers give the ball back to Las Vegas with 38 seconds on the clock and overtime looming.
Garoppolo aggressively looked Adams's way to get back in scoring range to end this game. Two passes, two first downs, and the Raiders crossed the 50 needing the 38 for a Daniel Carson field goal attempt. They settle for the 41 and trot their kicker out for a 58-yarder. Mike Tomlin freezes Carlson, as the kick goes wide right following the timeout.
It’s not over though. With one second remaining, Pickett launched a Hail Mary to the end zone and somehow Calvin Austin III came down with it. The Steelers win an improbable defensive battle 20-14.