Category: 2022 Week 16 Steelers vs. Raiders

Steelers vs Raiders: Official prediction

Cast your vote and tell us who you think wins this week.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are going to have a late night on Christmas Eve as they are taking on the Las Vegas Raiders at home in prime time. Both teams are 6-8 and playing more for pride than anything else.

Picking a winner here is all about the matchups. The Steelers and Raiders both want to come out and pound the football on a frigid night, and Pittsburgh has shown they can do it. In recent weeks, the Steelers have shown they can shut down the opposing run game as well. This is where the game will be decided. Neither team wants to put it in the hands of their quarterback, because both teams can rush the passer.

On this day, we predict it will be the Steelers who run the ball with the two-headed monster of Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren and bring the heat to Raiders quarterback Derek Carr. Steelers 27, Raiders 21

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Cast your vote and let us who you pick to win this week.

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Steelers troll broadcaster Kurt Warner with amazing photo

Kurt Warner has bad memories of Super Bowl XLIII.

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On Saturday night, the Pittsburgh Steelers will take on the Las Vegas Raiders on Christmas Eve and the game will be televised on NFL Network. Former Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner will call the game and he shared this pic from Acrisure Stadium where the team accidentally trolled him from his time as a player.

Warner was the Cardinals starting quarterback when they took on the Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII. Considered one of the most exciting Super Bowls of all time, the game-winning touchdown catch by Pittsburgh wide receiver Santonio Holmes is an iconic play. And brings back some tough memories for Warner as the team had a photo of it just outside the broadcast booth.

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3 Steelers starters listed as questionable vs Raiders

The Steelers could be minus three starters this week.

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This week the Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves rushed to prepare for the Las Vegas Raiders. A Saturday kickoff on Christmas Eve and inclement weather have modified the team’s preparations. This means the team put out its game status report for the game a day early.

Pittsburgh listed three starters as questionable this week ahead of Saturday’s game. Safety Terrell Edmunds has a hamstring injury. Linebacker Myles Jack is listed with a groin injury. And wide receiver Diontae Johnson has a toe injury.

If Edmunds cannot go, it will be Damontae Kazee getting a much heavier workload next to Minkah Fitzpatrick. Robert Spillane replaces Jack in the lineup and frankly is no step down at all. Johnson has said he plans to play but if he cannot go, the wide receiver unit takes a huge hit. Look for Steven Sims to slide into the starting lineup but George Pickens and tight end Pat Freiermuth will take all those extra targets.

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Steelers vs Raiders: 3 reasons to worry this week

Is Kenny Pickett ready to come back and can the Steelers defense slow down Josh Jacobs?

This week the Pittsburgh Steelers take the field with heavy hearts as they mourn the death of Steelers legend Franco Harris. Nevertheless, the Steelers still need to be ready to take on a scrappy Las Vegas Raiders team on Christmas Eve who is just as keen on an upset as Pittsburgh is. Here are the three things we are worried about this week.

3 reasons the Steelers will beat the Raiders on Christmas Eve

Pittsburgh has all the reasons in the world to beat the Raiders on Saturday.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have three games left to play and if the team has any hope of making the playoffs, they must win all three. First up are the Las Vegas Raiders in the prime-time showdown on Christmas Eve. Both teams are 6-8 and need this win. But this is Pittsburgh’s game to lose and they aren’t going to lose it. Here are three reasons why.

Steelers release simulated Tuesday practice report

Here is the Steelers participation estimate for Tuesday since the team did not practice.

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The Pittsburgh Steelers opted not to practice on Tuesday but the NFL still requires a participation report every day. So this participation is all estimated. With no Tuesday practice, the Steelers will only have two full days of prep and one walkthrough before Saturday’s Christmas Eve showdown with Las Vegas Raiders.

Here is the practice estimation the Steelers produced:

QB Kenny Pickett (Concussion) – FP
DB Josh Jackson (Ankle) – FP
TE Pat Freiermuth (Foot) – FP
RB Najee Harris (Hip) – LP
LB Myles Jack (Groin) – LP
WR Diontae Johnson (Toe) – LP
FB Derek Watt (Ankle) – LP
S Terrell Edmunds (Hamstring) – DNP
DT Cameron Heyward (Coaches Decision – Resting Player) – DNP
DL Larry Ogunjobi (Coaches Decision – Resting Player) – DNP

The big news here is that starting quarterback Kenny Pickett has cleared concussion protocol and is starting this week barring any setbacks. Head coach Mike Tomlin noted after Sunday’s win over the Carolina Panthers there were no significant injuries from the game so these would all either be left over from the previous week or were injuries from the game Tomlin wasn’t made aware of until well after the game.

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Steelers HC Mike Tomlin staying silent on discipline for Marcus Allen

Mike Tomlin didn’t get any comment on the Marcus Allen penalty.

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Last week the NFL world was witness to maybe the dumbest penalty of the season and perhaps of all time. Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Marcus Allen drew an unsportsmanlike conduct flag when he sauntered over to the Carolina Panthers huddle during a timeout to jaw with the opposition.

On Tuesday when head coach Mike Tomlin addressed the media he was asked about what if any discipline was coming from Allen’s mistake. Tomlin made it clear he was keeping that information in-house.

“I’m not going to give you the pound of flesh you’re looking for,” Tomlin said.

We should know pretty quickly on Saturday if Tomlin disciplined Allen. Allen doesn’t typically play on defense but is a regular on special teams. If Allen is out there and playing we will know there was none at all. Many on social media called for Tomlin to cut Allen after his misstep but realistically we knew that would never happen. Critics of Tomlin point to this incident as another case of him lacking control of his team while others view this as a one-off by a young player in the heat of the moment.

Let us know in the comments if you think Allen will be disciplined for last week.

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Steelers HC Mike Tomlin plans to start Kenny Pickett vs Raiders

All signs are pointing to Kenny Pickett starting this week.

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Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin addressed the quarterback position early in his Tuesday press conference. Rookie Kenny Pickett missed last week’s game against the Carolina Panthers dealing with a concussion but Tomlin noted that barring any setbacks, Pickett is cleared and will start Sunday vs the Las Vegas Raiders.

Mitch Trubisky came in last week in place of Pickett and played a very smart football game after throwing three interceptions the week before. The Steelers leaned heavily on the run game last week and even with Pickett back in the lineup Tomlin and the Steelers would be wise to continue this philosophy.

Trubisky started the first four games of the season before being benched in favor of Pickett.

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Steelers vs Raiders: 3 early storylines for this week’s game

All eyes are on the quarterback position this week for the Steelers.

There are three games left on the Pittsburgh Steelers schedule and they need to win them all. Head coach Mike Tomlin has never had a losing season but one more loss would put that streak in serious jeopardy. This week on the schedule the Las Vegas Raiders come to town, coming off of a miracle win over the New England Patriots. Here are this week’s early storylines.

Steelers open as 2.5-point favorites over Raiders

The Steelers a slim home favorites this week.

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On Sunday both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Las Vegas Raiders were able to pull off wins. This week these two teams will square off on a Christmas Eve prime-time showdown. Both teams come into the game at 6-8 and clinging to the slimmest of hopes of making the playoffs.

With these two teams so similar you knew the line would be close and it is. The line opened at Tipico Sportsbook with the Steelers just 2.5-point home favorites.

The Raiders lead the all-time series 17-13 and have won the last two matchups. Saturday’s game will be a celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the greatest play in NFL history, the Immaculate Reception.

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