PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) - Just when it appeared the Steelers might use a pair of big plays as a springboard to a come-from-behind fourth quarter victory, instead it was the Raiders who pulled off the big play and left Pittsburgh with an upset victory. Again.
Trailing 16-7, Ben Roethlisberger found Chase Claypool (who had dropped a TD pass in the first half) for a 52-yard gain to the Las Vegas 25 yard line then Najee Harris took a swing pass on third-and-ten down the sideline for a touchdown.
“What did we get it to, 14-16,” Can Heyward rhetorically asked? “We really need to get off on that (next) drive.”
After Renegade made it’s 2021 debut, it certainly looked like they would. After the Raiders picked up a quick first down, David Carr was woefully off target with his next two throws. But, on third-and-ten, Carr was right on target to Henry Ruggs III who was wide open in the Pittsburgh secondary. That 61-yard TD was the difference in what would end, 26-17.
“I thought the deep ball on third down they hit to Ruggs for the score was a big play, obviously,” reflected Mike Tomlin dropping one of his favorite words, and with good reason.
“Man, we got to keep a lid on it – always,” the coach lamented. “There always needs to be a lid on it. Regardless of what the structure of the call is or the situation or circumstance we can’t have people running behind our defense.”
Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon were the guilty parties, or at least ones chasing Ruggs. Minkah took responsibility and said he got suckered in by Darren Waller.
“He ran directly at me, got me to sit on my feet because he’s a big target for them especially on big plays,” Fitzpatrick explained. “I just can’t stop my feet, I gotta stay in the middle of the field, gotta be where I’m at. That’s on me 110 percent.”
That’s debatable, since Witherspoon certainly must bear some responsibility. Joe Haden’s injury didn’t help since that created a trickle-down effect at CB and Weatherspoon, while a veteran is a month into his Steelers tenure. But Fitzpatrick says while that might provide an explanation, there is still no excuse.
“It really didn’t change too much the way we’re playing. We expect guys whether they’ve been here for three days or three years to play at a high level,” he said, reflecting on his arrival two years ago when he was given a playbook three days before his first game.
“The communication was fine, it was good,” Fitzpatrick continued. “Like I said, we go out there through the week, everybody’s out there practicing and there were no communication problems, really.”
That doesn’t mean there’s not plenty of room for improvement, however. “We’ve got to go back and watch the game tape, dissect that and go from there.”