Black and gold dominated in the stands — and on the field — during Sunday’s Pittsburgh Steelers road game in the desert.
Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney acknowledged it in the dateline of his report from the game: “Pittsburgh West.” A couple Review-Journal articles from the game referred to the thousands of Terrible Towels being twirled in the Las Vegas Raiders’ stadium as “yellow,” but Steelers fans know them as gold.
There were “self-inflicted wounds” that led to the Steelers’ 32-13 victory, Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell told reporters after the game.
Wild: #Steelers fans have taken over Vegas.
You can barely see any #Raiders fans after the touchdown pic.twitter.com/vKlibNJUHR
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) October 13, 2024
Review-Journal beat reporter Vincent Bonsignore listed some of them: the inordinate number of fans from the away team at Allegiant Stadium, bad plays, penalties, turnovers and the run defense.
The Raiders had three turnovers that the Steelers turned into two touchdowns. The Raiders have the NFL’s worst turnover differential at minus-10, Bonsignore reported.
“The turnover thing is embarrassing,” coach Antonio Pierce said after the game. “We don’t respect the ball enough, so we don’t even deserve a chance to put ourselves into a position to win.”
Review-Journal writer and columnist Adam Hill described the Steelers’ defense as ferocious, while the Raiders appeared to be lost. In addition to the three forced turnovers, the Steelers’ defense blocked a punt.
How does Antonio Pierce not challenge that? And on the next play a @Raiders fumble to hand it back to the Steelers.
— Vincent Bonsignore (@VinnyBonsignore) October 13, 2024
“This version of the Raiders has to play clean football to win games, and they were anything but on Sunday,” he wrote.
Pierce seemed to agree when talking to reporters after the game.
“Our record is what it shows,” he said. “We’re 2-4, not good enough. We’re not coaching well enough. We’re not playing well enough. We’re not detailed enough, and, more importantly, when you turn the ball over, you don’t give yourself a chance.”
NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk managing editor Michael David Smith called the Steelers’ performance the team’s most dominant of the season so far. It was an easy win, he wrote, but the Raiders look like they’re in for a long season.
Justin Fields misfiring all over the place…oh, and Russell Wilson is active for the #Steelers…FWIW
— Paul Gutierrez (@PGutierrezESPN) October 13, 2024
The Raiders switched quarterbacks for the game, giving O’Connell the start over Gardner Minshew II, who was benched the previous week after throwing two interceptions during a loss. The switch didn’t matter, said Yahoo Sports writer Jason Owens.
O’Connell passed for 227 yards, completing 27 of 40 passes for one touchdown and one interception.
It wasn’t much better for the Raiders on the other side of the ball. The Steelers ran for a season-high 183 yards, led by running back Najee Harris with 106.
“We’ve got to find ways to get better,” defensive end Maxx Crosby told reporters after the game. “And it sucks for the fans. I want them to see the best version of us, and we haven’t been able to show that to them.”
A time warp back to 1977, with #Raiders owner Mark Davis, #Steelers @ProFootballHOF CB Mel Blount and @baseballhall @mroctober pic.twitter.com/1MVsbkg9Zv
— Paul Gutierrez (@PGutierrezESPN) October 13, 2024
