The Steelers and Raiders are not exactly putting on a marquee offensive exhibition for Sunday Night Football. But Pittsburgh has put together three scoring drives and leads Las Vegas 13-7 at halftime.
The game began with three three-and-outs — two from Pittsburgh and one from Las Vegas. But then the two teams traded touchdowns to make the score 7-7.
Raiders receiver Davante Adams caught a 32-yard pass on fourth-and-1 for a touchdown to give the Raiders a seven-point lead. But that was short lived as Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett fired a 72-yard touchdown deep down the middle of the field to tie the game.
Raiders QB Jimmy Garoppolo threw an interception over the middle to cornerback Levi Wallace when targeting rookie tight end Michael Mayer. Pittsburgh took over on its 31-yard line for an extra possession.
Though the Steelers couldn’t convert on third-and-6 from the Las Vegas 25 with an incomplete pass, Chris Boswell nailed a 43-yard field goal to give Pittsburgh a 10-7 advantage.
Boswell added a 42-yard field goal to make the score 13-7 with 1:56 left in the second period.
Jimmy Garoppolo was sacked uncomfortably on a two-minute drill and got twisted up. He jogged to the locker room early as the Steelers finished the half with a short run on offense.
Pickett completed 7-of-14 passes for 122 yards with a touchdown in the first half, good for a 103.9 passer rating. George Pickens had two catches for 26 yards. Najee Harris has 28 yards on 10 carries while Jaylen Warren has five carries for 25 yards.
On the other side, Garoppolo is 12-of-18 for 155 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Adams has seven receptions for 97 yards and Jakobi Meyers has three catches for 39 yards. Josh Jacobs has just 22 yards on eight carries.
As for the star edge rushers, Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt has 2.0 sacks and two tackles for loss with another QB hit. Las Vegas’ Maxx Crosby split a sack with Bilal Nichols and has three total tackles.
The Raiders are set to receive the second-half kickoff.
