Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker TJ Watt (90) gets the swoop down on Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) Watt would later leave the game with a injury and watch from the sidelines in the second half at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh on Sun Sep 19, 2021 (AP News photo)
By Rich Perez
The Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1) couldn’t withstand the injuries and fell to the Las Vegas Raiders (2-0) 26-17 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. One of the key injuries of the game was when outside linebacker TJ Watt left in the first half and it felt like one of the wheels fell off for the Steelers.
Watt was seen on television standing on the sidelines in the second half with uniform off wearing Steelers cap and garb colecting his thoughts. Watt suffered a groin injury and you could feel the tension at Heinz Field which you could cut the Steel Curtain with a butter knife as any adrenaline the Steelers had left them.
The Steelers were coming off a 26-17 opening week win from last Sun Sep 12th in Buffalo but all that was for not as they couldn’t muster any defense against the Raiders. The Raiders had a 9-6 lead after the first half and outscored the Steelers in the second half 17-10 the Steelers offense just fell flat.
Raider quarterback Derek Carr threw 28-37 for 382 yards and two touchdowns and key for Carr he never threw an interception he got protection all day from his offensive line. Other Steelers injuries cornerback Joe Haden and inside linebacker Devin Bush were inactive also suffering from groin injuries.
Steelers defensive tackle Tyson Alualu is out for the season with a fractured ankle and that didn’t take long as the injury happened during the Raiders first possession. Carr threw for a 61 yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Henry Ruggs. The offensive line protected Carr so well that he had time to drop back and throw to Ruggs at 50 yards for the score.
Carr dropped back to pass 42 times in the game a lot of opportunities and was sacked twice. Watt got to strip sack Carr in the first half before he left with his injury. The Steelers Melvin Ingram also got the other sack. Carr made it look easy in the second half and had no struggles with the Steeler secondary. After suffering multiple injuries the Steelers looked as if all the wind had been taken out of their sails.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said the team needs time to grow and next Sunday comes fast after playing a game like they did on Sunday, “Win or lose, we’ve got to grow. We’ve got too many young people, new people in significant roles. They’ve just got to grow in terms of understanding those roles, the details required to win, the skills relative to their position to execute in those critical moments.”
The Raiders will entertain the Miami Dolphins (1-1) who were shut out Sunday by the Buffalo Bills (1-1) 35-0 on their home field in Miami. Kick off at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sun Sep 26th is at 1:05 pm.