Steelers defense shines, offense finds rhythm to lift Pittsburgh past Las Vegas Raiders 23-18

LAS VEGAS (KDKA) – The Pittsburgh Steelers walked into the bright lights of Sin City Sunday night and came out the other side with a win/loss against the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Raiders opened the scoring at the midway point of the first quarter as quarterback Jimmy Garappolo hit wideout Davante Adams on a 4th-and-1 play action pass to give the Raiders a 7-0 lead.

On the very next drive, Kenny Pickett and the Steelers responded with a 72-yard deep ball to Calvin Austin III that resulted in an equalizing score. 

Levi Wallace intercepted Garappolo early on in the second quarter and the Steelers marched downfield once again, but the drive stalled out, resulting in a 43-yard field goal, giving the Steelers a 10-7 lead with 8:33 left in the first half.

With two minutes left in the half, the Steelers once again called on kicker Chris Boswell’s services to give the Steelers a six-point lead. Boswell’s 42-yarder was good.

Another Chris Boswell, a 57-yarder, would extend the Steelers lead, 16-7, early in the third quarter.

On the next drive, Garoppolo threw a second interception on the night, this time to veteran defensive back Patrick Peterson. Pickett and the offense would reward the turnover, with another passing touchdown. Tight end Pat Freiermuth would extend the lead by 16. The Steelers went up 23-7.

For the first time since the first quarter, the Raiders found the end zone late in the fourth quarter. A quick pass to Davante Adams inside the five-yard line gave Las Vegas another six points. The Raiders attempted and converted a two-point conversion to make the score 23-15 with 5:41 left in regulation.

With three minutes left in regulation, the Raiders entered the red zone, needing a touchdown and two-point conversion to tie the game. 

Daniel Carlson kicked a field goal for the Raiders to trail 23-18 with 2:22 left in the game.

After getting the ball back ahead of the two-minute warning, the Steelers were able to drain most of the remaining game clock to under 30 seconds.

With just 12 seconds left, the Raiders were forced to throw, but Garoppolo threw a third interception, this time to Levi Wallace, his second pick of the game, to seal the victory.