Najee Harris, Steelers run over Raiders in Las Vegas: Key takeaways

By Mike DeFabo, Tashan Reed, Vic Tafur and Chris Licata

Justin Fields, Najee Harris and the Pittsburgh Steelers cruised through Las Vegas on Sunday en route to their fourth win of the season, securing a 32-13 road victory over the reeling Raiders.

It was Mike Tomlin's team's first 30-point performance of 2024 and stopped the Steelers' two-game losing streak. Fields, making his sixth straight start, limited his mistakes and teamed with Harris for 165 rushing yards and all three of Pittsburgh's touchdowns, all of which came on the ground.

After trailing 12-7 at halftime, Antonio Pierce's Raiders lost their wheels in the following frames due to two turnovers and a blocked punt. Quarterback Aidan O'Connell couldn't muster any momentum except for rookie tight end Brock Bowers, who had nine receptions and 71 receiving yards.

The Raiders travel to SoFi Stadium next Sunday to take on the Los Angeles Rams, while the Steelers return to Pittsburgh to prepare for back-to-back home games against the New York Jets and Giants.

The Steelers defense responds strongly

When the Raiders marched 70 yards in 10 plays to score a touchdown on their opening series, it looked like it was going to be a long day for the Steelers' defense. As it turned out, that was about all the Raiders did all day. TJ Watt and his company responded great. Watt twice forced a fumble by picking up the ball, including at the goal line as the Raiders tried to cut the Steelers' lead to one point early in the fourth quarter.

Cornerback Donte Jackson also got in on the action, intercepting O'Connell for his third pick of the season. The Steelers made the Raiders largely one-dimensional, holding them to 57 rushing yards. Overall, the Steelers limited the Raiders to 275 yards and 13 points. – Mike DeFabo, Steelers beat writer

The Raiders' quarterback change didn't matter

Pierce benched quarterback Gardner Minshew in favor of O'Connell this week. His hope was that the second-year quarterback, who started 10 games last year, would give the offense a much-needed boost. Instead, the decision became meaningless as the offense delivered a miserable performance against the Steelers.

O'Connell completed 67.5 percent of his passes, but that's a misleading number considering that most of his successful passes came on quick dump-offs and short throws. O'Connell was often inaccurate on intermediate and deep throws and missed several opportunities to extend drives or make big plays. He finished the game with 227 passing yards, a meaningless touchdown and a terrible interception that resulted in a terrible fall.

That doesn't mean the Raiders made a mistake in benching Minshew. He's been miserable since the Raiders' win over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2, and there wasn't much reason to believe he would turn things around.

What it means is that the Raiders have no answer at quarterback on their roster. They could go back to Minshew or stick with O'Connell, but it doesn't really feel like it matters either way. — Tashan Reed, Raiders senior writer

Training camp-style drills didn't help the Raiders' tackling

The quarterback change the Raiders made last week highlighted how poor their tackling has been on defense this season. But a “training camp” approach from Pierce in practice didn’t help Sunday in the loss.

Harris out-rebounded Jack Jones on one run, made three attempts and carried five Raiders on another run, then evaded several more on a 36-yard run down the sideline.

The Raiders also had no answer when Fields started running, as the Steelers averaged 5.2 yards per carry on 35 attempts.

The final lead could have been much worse, but Fields knocked down at least five open receivers. The Raiders couldn't generate much pressure in their first game without injured defensive tackle Christian Wilkins. – Vic Tafur, Raiders senior writer

Fields provides sparks on the ground, Harris comes alive

For a significant portion of the game, the Steelers offense was inconsistent. Fields was inaccurate in some cases and at times slow in his progress. He completed 14 of 24 passes for 145 yards and recorded three sacks. However, his scrambling ability gave Pittsburgh the spark it needed as he rushed for 59 yards and two touchdowns.

And then Harris made his presence felt. The former first-round pick had a significant breakthrough with his first carry of the game. In the second half, he managed a season-long 26-yard run and then followed that up with a 36-yard run on the same series, during which he scored his first touchdown of the season with the ball outstretched in one hand.

It was the first time this year that Harris ran for more than 100 yards. If this continues, the Steelers may have taken a step toward the run-heavy identity they desire. – DeFabo

The Raiders' receivers look lackluster without Davante Adams

The Raiders didn't have much at wide receiver on Sunday with Adams waiting to be traded and Jakobi Meyers sidelined with an ankle injury. And it showed, as the Raiders didn't complete a pass to a wide receiver until the final seconds of the first half.

Alex Bachman led the Raiders' wideouts with three catches, good for 31 yards, while speedster Tre Tucker was held without a catch. He had 37 of the Raiders quintet's 43 career catches before the game, but the jump from being covered by No. 1 cornerbacks like Joey Porter Jr. was too big for him

Kristian Wilkerson, who had four catches with the Patriots in 2021, caught a touchdown in garbage time. Wilkerson almost made the roster out of training camp before being signed to the practice squad and is a 6-foot-3 physical receiver that O'Connell gets along well with.

Adams has been sidelined with a hamstring injury, and although he has asked for a trade, talks have been slow so far. Pierce said Wednesday that Adams has been rehabilitating at the team facility and “is in good condition.” – Tafur

Required reading

(Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)