Week Six of the 2024 National Football League season is here. This week our Pittsburgh Steelers travel to Sin City to take on the Las Vegas Raiders. Here’s everything you need to know for the game.
What: Pittsburgh Steelers 3-2 at Las Vegas Raiders 2-3
Where: Allegiant Stadium Las Vegas, Nevada
When: Sunday October 13th 2024 405mET
Weather: Indoors
Surface: Natural grass
Wagering Information: Steelers -3 O/U 36.5
Last Week: The Raiders lost to Denver 34-18 while the Steelers dropped a 20-17 decision in Pittsburgh.
TV: CBS Ian Eagle (play-by-play), Charles Davis (analysis), Evan Washburn (field reporter)
TV Coverage in Your Area (courtesy 506sports.com): Coverage of the game is in BLUE. 
Radio: Steelers Nation Radio/WDVE Rob King (play-by-play), Craig Wolfley (analysis)
Max Starks (field reporter) NOTE: This is the first game since the retirement of Bill Hillgrove.
Head Official: Alan Eck. He’s a tax manager from Bloomsburg State. Eck is in just his third season as a head official. He last officiated a Steelers game in 2023. It was a 20-10 loss to Jacksonville. His crew had 12 accepted penalties that day – six for each team. His crew also earned this from Mike Tomlin: “What the fuck is wrong with y’all today?”
Key Injuries/Game Status (courtesy steelers.com) PIT: No. 23 S Damontae Kazee (Ankle) – Out, No. 30 RB Jaylen Warren (Knee) – Questionable, No. 51 LB Nick Herbig (Hamstring) – Out, No. 56 LB Alex Highsmith (Groin) – Out, No. 81 TE MyCole Pruitt (Knee) – Out, No. 84 RB/KR Cordarrelle Patterson (Ankle) – Out, No. 98 DE DeMarvin Leal (Neck) – Out LV: No. 17 WR Davante Adams (Hamstring) – Out, No. 45 LB Tommy Eichenberg (Hamstring) – Questionable, No. 87 TE Michael Mayer (NIR – Personal) – Out, No. 16 WR Jakobi Meyers (Ankle) – Questionable, No. 77 T Thayer Munford Jr. (Knee/Ankle) – Questionable, No. 58 G Jackson Powers-Johnson (Knee) – Questionable, No. 3 RB Zamir White (Groin) – Limited, No. 37 S Trey Taylor (Knee) – Full
Injury Notes: Warren has been removed from any injury designation… Crosby did not practice on Wednesday and Thursday and was limited Friday. He will play but clearly isn’t 100%.
2024 NFL Ranks:
Total Offense: PIT 24th LV 20th Passing Offense: PIT 26th LV 15th Rushing Offense: PIT 11th LV 30th
Total Defense: PIT 2nd LV 27th Passing Defense: PIT 17th LV 15th Rushing Defense: PIT 6th LV 22nd
AFC North Rankings: Pittsburgh 3-2, Baltimore 3-2, Cincinnati 1-4, Cleveland 1-4
This Week in the AFC North: Cleveland at Philadelphia 1pm, Washington at Baltimore 1pm, Cincinnati at NY Giants 820pm
What You Need to Know: The Steelers are 2-1 on the road and are 1-0 in domes this season… They are 3-0 when holding opponents to 19 points or less… Pittsburgh is 2-0 against the AFC West this season… The Steelers are 22-38 all-time in the Pacific time zone… They have won three straight and four of their last five out west however…
Tomlin Time: Coach Tomlin is 3-5 all-time against the Raiders… He is 129-77-1 all-time versus the AFC… Tomlin has 57 career road victories which places him fifth all-time since 1970… Raiders’ Head Coach Antonio Pierce is 7-7 so far in his career as boss of the Raiders.
Las Vegas Raiders Names to Know: QB Aidan O’Connell, TE Brock Bowers, WR Davante Adams, DE Maxx Crosby… LB Robert Spillane… CB Nate Hobbs… OT Kolton Miller, K Daniel Karlson
What’s at Stake: The Raiders are facing issues with injuries to stars like Davante Adams and Maxx Crosby. They are already behind the Chiefs by three games and cannot afford to fall further. The Steelers have dropped two straight since opening the season with three straight wins. Righting the ship now is crucial with a daunting second half schedule looming.
All-Time Series: Raiders lead 17-15
Last Meeting: September 2023 in Las Vegas. Steelers 23 Raiders 18
Postseason History: Series tied 3-3
Steelers Game Highs vs LV: PASSING: 384 yards Ben Roethlisberger 09/23/2012 RUSHING: 170 yards De’Angelo Williams 11/08/2015 RECEIVING: 284 yards Antonio Brown 11/08/2015 SACKS: 3.0 Joey Porter 09/15/2002 and
Kimo Von Oelhoffen 12/07/2003 INTERCEPTIONS:2 Nine different players
Last: Levi Wallace 09/24/2023
Check out the latest Steel City Blitz Steelers Podcast for more on the Steelers.
Three Things We Need to See for a Steelers’ Victory:
1. Decisiveness from Justin. Few would argue that Justin Fields has been better in terms of ball security than many had suggested heading into the season. Where he next has to take a jump is in his ability to make quick decisions. Fields cannot afford to hang on to the ball too long because it leads to sacks, turnovers and poor decisions. Arthur Smith needs to give him opportunities to use his legs and when he does drop he should make two reads and then take off.
2. Communication Breakdown. An ode to a Led Zeppelin classic… The Steelers’ secondary was an absolute mess last week. Some guys were in zone when they should have been in man and vice-versa. It was just sloppy and the film reflected it. If they can’t figure things out this week then I’m concerned for the rest of the season going forward. They cannot give up big plays to this offense.
3. Take Me to the Other Side. Since I used a Led Zeppelin reference above, then why not an Aerosmith one??? The other side I’m referring to in this case is the other side from T.J. Watt. With both DeMarvin Leal and Nick Herbig both OUT for this game, someone has to step up. This doesn’t necessarily mean they need sacks, but they have to provide pressure. If they don’t then the Raiders can focus heavily on Watt and that will be no good for anyone wearing black and gold.
The ‘X’ Factor: Each week I will select a player from each team who I believe will need to play above and beyond in order for his team to win.
X-Factor Steelers: Minkah Fitzpatrick. It’s beyond time for him to make a splash play and furthermore, he has to get this secondary on the same page communication-wise. Their lack of it last week was a deciding factor in the loss.
X-Factor Raiders: Brock Bowers. Last week I suggested Cowboys’ TE Jake Ferguson would have a big day and I was wrong. This week I’m not as confident but I still feel like the rookie Bowers could be a problem. Consider that Aidan O’Connell is getting the start at QB too. Young QBs rely on their tight ends so I’m very concerned about Bowers.
Prediction: The last two weeks have been as bad for me as they have for the Steelers. That said, I feel unusually confident in this one. Most of the team is saying the right things in terms of cleaning up the issues that have plagued them the last two weeks and they’re playing a team they should beat, plain and simple. While Steeler Nation will once again show up in Vegas in droves, this one will still be closer than it should be.
Steelers 23 Raiders 16
Season Prediction Record: 3-2
