Subscribe
Follow Us
The Las Vegas Raiders Week 16 matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers is essentially an elimination game. Both teams enter this weekend's game sitting at 6-8, needing to win out and get a lot of help to make the playoffs. Both respective divisions are already out of reach. The Kansas City Chiefs clinched the AFC West and the AFC North will go to either the Cincinnati Bengals or Baltimore Ravens. That leaves the wild card as the only possible avenue, albeit a far fetched one.
Nevertheless, this old school rivalry is sure to be a hard fought game. All week, we've been seeing adds to this game with images of the Franco Harris immaculate reception game 50 years ago Friday. Harris, sadly passed away earlier this week. May he rest in peace.
This Week 16 game should be very intriguing, with a lot of factors involved. The weather might very well play a serious part in how this game plays out. Kickoff Saturday is expected to be around zero degrees with wind chills bringing into the negative. That type of bone-chilling cold will likely hamper these offenses a bit. So, you can expect a lower-scoring affair.
With that said, let's get to our Raiders Week 16 bold predictions against the Steelers.
*Watch NFL games LIVE with fuboTV (click for free trial)*
4. Derek Carr held under 225 yards passing
Raiders QB Derek Carr has had a bit of an up and down season. At times, he looked like the Pro Bowl level quarterback we witnessed almost all of last season. Other times, he has looked lost and missed open receivers or badly misdiagnosed a defense. Maybe that can be attributed to having yet another head coach and offensive coordinator. After all, Carr has had five different OC's during his 9-year career.
The Steelers secondary has not been very imposing this year. They rank near the bottom in most statistical passing defensive categories. But in a game that is expected to be as cold as this one, that generally does not bode well for aerial attacks. More than likely, both teams are going to try and keep the ball on the ground as much as they can.
Josh Jacobs leads the NFL in rushing, so even against a stout defensive front, he should find some success. That means killing clock, which in turn limits possessions for both teams. Look for Carr to be held below 225 passing yards.
3. Raiders WR Davante Adams held under 60 yards, scores TD
On a related note, with my belief that this game will be played mostly on the ground, that will limit the opportunities for All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams. He has been mostly feast or famine this year.
Adams is among the league leaders in 100-yard receiving games. But he also has had a number of dud performances, albeit mostly not a fault of his own. He was held completely in check by Bill Belichick and the Patriots defense last week. Even though I expect his target share will not improve greatly, I do however believe he will still find the end zone.
I am expecting something along with lines of five catches for 50 yards and a touchdown.
2. Steelers RB Najee Harris tops 100 yards rushing vs. Raiders defense
A lot of people have been disappointed in the production from Steelers tailback Najee Harris. But he has been much more effective as of late. Harris has rushed for exactly 86 yards in two of the last three games and has five touchdowns over his last five games.
Like I mentioned above, you can expect plenty of rushing attempts Saturday. The Raiders are not very good limiting opposing ground games. I think we are looking at another successful game for Harris against a lackluster Vegas defense.
1. Raiders Blow Another 4th Quarter Lead
The Raiders were one completion and long kick away from blowing their fourth 17-point, second half lead in a loss last week. Instead, Jakobi Meyers made one of the most boneheaded plays anyone has ever seen. Chandler Jones took advantage and sent Raiders fans home happy.
But that just masked a problem that continues to happen. The Raiders blew massive second half leads to the Arizona Cardinals, Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams. They technically blew their 17-3 vs. the Patriots as well.
This game should be close throughout. But I would expect the Raiders to hold a lead in the second half once again. But I simply do not trust Josh McDaniels to lead his team to a must-win on the road. Mike Tomlin has never had a losing season during his tenure with the Steelers. A loss here would guarantee one. I don't see that happening, at least not this week.
