They are now looking for their third straight win to keep improving in the standings and a win over the Steelers will be a big feather in their cap as their resurgence continues.
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Then just as quickly, the potentially watershed moment vanished.
Said Heyward: “We’ve just been really trying to pray this baby comes rather soon”. That’s good to see. “We’ll be in the treatment room and hoping the guys can get back on the field next week”. “So, it’s tough when you’re not carrying your weight”. Derek Carr almost did it, throwing for 301 yards with four touchdowns and an interception.
Oakland Raiders wide receiver Amari Cooper (89) kneels in the end zone after making a touchdown catch in the second quarter of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, November 8, 2015, in Pittsburgh. The All Pro spun and darted down the sideline to the Oakland 15.
“If you win the turnover battle, you win the game”, Del Rio said. Mack has four sacks and 27 tackles on the season, having played in every game.
Oakland isn’t favored in this one, according to Bovada.lv, but should. “It’s definitely not something that the secondary is proud of. We know that we’re better than that”. In his first game back replacing the injured Le’Veon Bell, Williams left the Oakland defense scrambling for answers as the Raiders left Antonio Brown in one-on-one coverage, which he shredded for franchise records.
Brown caught 10 passes for 180 yards in the first two quarters. He has thrown 19 touchdowns pass this season and been intercepted just three times. Pittsburgh took the lead on a 14-yard touchdown reception by Martavis Bryant, who made several defenders miss while scoring off a short screen pass. So far Pittsburgh has only hit that number once, putting up 43 in a romp over San Francisco in Week 2 that looked more impressive at the time than it does in hindsight.
“For the most part, if you put up 35 points, you should win”, said Raiders coach Jack Del Rio afterward.
The first injury happened on the second play of the game.
The Raiders did wind up striking though, as Carr put together yet another four-touchdown, 300-yard performance.
“We could have done so much more”, Carr said. “That’s the thing that hurts me. I’m not going to hide it or shy away from it. We’ve got to get a lot better”. Oakland had to play the final 20 minutes without its starting running back and could be without him for at least one game if he has any lasting concussion symptoms.
Ross Cockrell – His red zone interception flipped the whole game around for Pittsburgh after Antonio Brown’s fumble and the questionable roughing the passer call on Shazier that saved the Raiders after a third down stop earlier in that drive. The star center, who has been an MVP up front this season, suffered an undisclosed injury in the fourth quarter and did not return. The Steelers have turned it over six times the past two weeks and were flagged 10 times against the Bengals.
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If the Raiders beat the Steelers, they will be home next week to face the Minnesota Vikings. Roethlisberger was taken to a local hospital and scheduled to undergo an MRI.
