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By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
My, things are so different in the NFL. Gambling used to be the boogeyman for the National Football League. Now Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, BetMGM and FanDuel are NFL betting partners with TV commercials during NFL broadcasts.
And the Las Vegas Raiders, which yielded so many points and so many yards a year ago, have an overhauled defense and sport a 2-0 record after disposing of the Pittsburgh Steelers with a 26-17 win in the Steel City Sunday.
Raiders vs Steelers evoke images of playoff lore from the 1970s and speedy Raiders receiver Henry Ruggs III brought make memories of the late Cliff Branch when he caught a long pass from Derek Carr for a key touchdown in the second half.
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Carr followed up an electric season-opening win over Baltimore and Lamar Jackson at Allegiant Stadium six days ago on MNF with an exquisite performance at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. He completed 28 of 37 passes for two touchdowns (including the bomb to Ruggs) as the offense relied on his right arm because leading runner Josh Jacobs was sidelined with an injury.
Speaking of Ruggs, the fleet wideout grabbed five passes for 113 yards as Carr spread his passes to eight receivers as the Steelers focused on top tight end Darren Waller. Even with drawing so much attention from the Pittsburgh defense, Waller caught five passes for 65 yards, including a big 25-yarder that set up Daniel Carlson’s game-clinching field goal in the final minute.
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A big change for the Raiders is their re-built defense, which applied pressure on 39-year-old Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, Now run by coordinator Gus Bradley, the Raiders defense yielded only one long play to Pittsburgh that set up the Steelers’ second touchdown.
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Carlson was solid once again, converting all four of his field goal attempts.
The Raiders return to Allegiant Stadium for a 1 PM Sunday game against the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 26.