The Pittsburgh Steelers were seeking redemption in Week 6 and they found it. After losing two straight games and allowing the Baltimore Ravens to climb to the top seed in the AFC North, Mike Tomlin needed a statement game against the Raiders.
It's safe to say the Steelers made a statement in Week 6.
Pittsburgh didn't come firing out of the gate. After their first drive stalled in the red zone and resulted in a field goal, the defense allowed Las Vegas to march down the field and score a touchdown off a 10-play, 70-yard drive. Fortuantely, it was all uphill from there.
The Steelers fought back and scored a touchdown with just 34 seconds remaining in the first half to give them a 12-7. That's when Pittsburgh poured it on.
In the second half, things really started to go Pittsburgh's way. They scored a field goal after a blocked punt, and Najee Harris got the wheels spinning for a career performance. This surge was accompanied by 20 second-half points.
Late in the fourth quarter, the Steelers racked up the score and were up 32-7 before the Raiders scored a touchdown in garbage time. This Week 6 AFC showdown ended with the most convincing win of the season for Tomlin's team... but there's still plenty of work to do.
Steelers can celebrate Week 6 win, but there's room for improvement
If you simply look at the end-game results, you would think that the Pittsburgh Steelers had this game in the bag early on. This wasn't the case. In fact, it didn't truly feel like Tomlin's team was in control until the fourth quarter.
In terms of total offense, the Steelers only outgained the Raiders 293 to 275 yards of total offense. The yards per play weren't any better, as Pittsburgh's 4.7 yards per play was hardly a step up from the 4.6 Las Vegas saw in this contest. Even the time of possession battle was close in this one.
The difference came in two key areas: the Steelers won the takeaway battle and converted in the red zone. Najee Harris and Justin Fields combined for three rushing touchdowns in this one, which put the game on ice late.
Steelers fans should take some time to bask in the ambiance of the Week 6 victory, but there is more than enough to work on heading into Week 7. Fields needs to get more consistent as a passer and Pittsburgh needs to find a way to engineer pressure without Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig (they sacked quarterback Aidan O'Connell just once in this game).
The Steelers advance to 4-2 on the season and are sitting in a good spot. Now it's time to go back to the drawing board and build on an overall strong performance and good team win in Week 6.