Coming off their second straight loss to open the season, the Oakland Raiders hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 3, beating them with a 44-yard field goal as time expired for the 34-31 victory.The Raiders move to 1-2 on the season, while the Steelers fall to 1-2 on the season. Oakland travels to Denver next weekend to face the Broncos in their second divisional game of the season.With a total team effort involved, continue reading for full grades and game analysis.Begin Slideshow
The Pittsburgh Steelers travel to Oakland this weekend to face the Raiders on the 40th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception. Troy Polamalu and James Harrison are both out for the Steelers. Does that mean that Carson Palmer will be able to exploit a banged-up Pittsburgh defense? Not exactly. The only hope the Raiders have to stay in this game is to run the ball effectively. For a team that's been among the league leaders in doing just that over the last couple years, 2012 hasn't seen the same results. Oakland is currently 31st in the NFL in rushing yards per game, and ...
The Pittsburgh Steelers and Oakland Raiders have historically engaged in one of the NFL's most iconic rivalries, and though they're decades removed from the heyday of their ire, both Steeler Nation and Raider Nation know that games against each other still carry bragging rights.As such, the Men of Steel would be wise not to overlook their Silver n' Black laden opponents, despite their anemic play thus far in 2012 and correlating 0-2 record. After all, as the Black and Gold's last trip to Oakland in 2006 proved, winning in the Black Hole is never a sure thing. Likewise, the struggling Raiders ...
The Oakland Raiders are 0-2 and at serious risk of falling to 0-3 with a tough game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at home. After two ugly performances, the Raiders are already being pegged as one of the league’s worst teams. It’s not that surprising because the Raiders are in the midst of significant changes, but the fans and fantasy owners have been most disappointed with the lack of offense. Carson Palmer and Darren McFadden were supposed to carry the defense through the rebuilding process, but through two games there have been very few bright spots on either side of the ...
The Arizona Cardinals proved last week by beating the New England Patriots as double-digit underdogs that any team can get the win on a Sunday afternoon. Week 3 in the NFL will not be any different as five NFL teams should be very worried. The public is still blindly backing teams based on old information which is inflating lines. Those lines will be under scrutiny this week. Last week I went 3-2 and all of my underdogs won on the field without the points. Those included big upsets by the Rams over the Redskins and the Seahawks over the ...
There is little reason to be excited about Darren McFadden's start unless you are in a PPR league. Even in that type of league you were severely let down last week.McFadden's juicy matchup with the Dolphins yielded 22 yards rushing and a pair of catches for 19 yards. That is not the kind of production you would expect from Run DMC.Through two games he has managed just 54 yards rushing on 26 carries. That's 2.1 yards per carry from a back that averaged 5.4 and 5.2 the past two seasons. His longest run of the season is eight yards.McFadden has ...
Greg Knapp was the offensive coordinator for two tumultuous seasons in Oakland from 2007 to 2008 and the Raider Nation let out a collective groan when Dennis Allen re-hired him to coordinate the offense in 2012. Too many fans in Oakland remember that he was stripped of his play-calling duties in 2008 by then interim head coach Tom Cable (via Yahoo Sports).Knapp has since brought back the zone-blocking scheme, a scheme that star running back Darren McFadden has struggled to learn as the Raiders continue to sink down the offensive standings in the AFC. Now, just two games into the 2012 season, ...
Raider Nation, it brings me no great pleasure to tell you this: but I told you so. Ever since I heard two dreadful words in the offseason, I told you things were going to be bad. I knew this season was going to require many sighs and alcoholic beverages in order to stomach it. What were those two little words, you ask? Greg Knapp. Or as I like to affectionately refer to him, Greg “The Offense Takes a” Knapp. Raider fans told me to give him a chance. “Look what he did in Houston!” they argued (even though he was ...
At 0-2, the Raiders sit in a tenuous position as they prepare to face the always physical Pittsburgh Steelers.In the midst of a couple of poor quarters, the Raiders have not played that badly. But unfortunately, they have not been able to put enough elements together to win. Facing an 0-3 start and losses in their first two home games, the Raiders have to put together a complete game to defeat the Steelers.Saying that is not the same as doing it.Pittsburgh may not be the elite team they've been, but they're still led by three of the best players in ...
The Reggie McKenzie-Dennis Allen era could not have gotten off to a more disappointing start after two weeks than it has in Oakland.After failing to take advantage of a very winnable game against the San Diego Chargers in Week 1, the Raiders had a defensive debacle against a rebuilding Miami Dolphins offense that scored 35 points against the silver and black.They shut down an anemic, Ryan Matthews-less Chargers running game, but the Raiders let Reggie Bush run all over them for 172 yards and a pair of touchdowns one week later.In Week 3, Oakland will face the always-dangerous ...