The Las Vegas Raiders' biggest problem this 2022 haunted them once again in their Week 16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and it may have just ended their playoff hopes.
While the Raiders struggled to score, Derek Carr and co. were able to maintain a 10-3 lead heading to the final quarter of the contest. They stopped the Steelers from getting anything going offensively as well and even kept them scoreless in the third quarter.
However, that is only until the fourth quarter when Kenny Pickett and the Steelers staged a late comeback. Pickett had his lone touchdown of the day when he found George Pickens for the 14-yard touchdown with 46 seconds left on the clock. A Cam Sutton interception with less than 30 seconds to play then sealed the comeback victory for Pittsburgh.
It was an incredibly frustrating ending for Derek Carr and the Raiders, but it's not something new to them. In fact, with the loss, they have now matched a franchise record for most losses in a season when leading at halftime. Las Vegas has five such games this 2022, tied with their 2006 campaign when they finished 2-14 overall.
The Raiders' inability to maintain their lead and close games properly is undoubtedly the reason they weren't able to thrive even with Davante Adams joining them in the offseason. Had they won those five games where they were ahead at halftime, they would have already qualified for the playoffs.
Instead, here they are now putting their fate on the hands of others. There's a huge chance they miss out on the playoffs, but they can blame no one but themselves for that.