The Las Vegas Raiders made their surprise season-opening win stand up with yet another impressive performance on Sunday, defeating the Steelers 26-17 in Pittsburgh and pushing their record to 2-0.
Quarterback Derek Carr again showed mastery of coach Jon Gruden’s offense, thriving with a nearly non-existent rushing attack. As for the defense, they made their presence felt for 60 minutes, harassing QB Ben Roethlisberger early and often.
Here are the players that impacted the Raiders’ big win the most, for the better and for the worse.
Winners
Derek Carr
In reality, Carr is a winner or a loser every week. He’s the leader of the team and gets all of the credit or all of the blame.
But it’s impossible to leave him off the winners’ list after his performance against the Steelers. The Raiders tallied just 56 rushing yards behind an inexperienced offensive line beset by injuries. The absence of running back Josh Jacobs didn’t help. The pass protection was spotty, too, but it barely fazed Carr.
With the Steelers paying extra attention to tight end Darren Waller, Carr found his other options with ease. On the afternoon, Carr hit 28 of 37 passes for 382 yards and two touchdowns — one to tight end Foster Moreau and the other to the next of this week’s winners.
Henry Ruggs III
On this Sunday in Pittsburgh, wide receiver Henry Ruggs III did exactly what he’s in a Raiders uniform to do. He caught a 61-yard bomb from Carr for a fourth-quarter touchdown, increasing the Raiders’ lead to an insurmountable 23-14 advantage.
Ruggs had some other moments, too. In total, he had five receptions on seven targets for 113 yards. He also caught a crossing route and nicely eluded two defenders, showing he has more to his game than raw speed.
But that speed is indeed vicious. Carr and Gruden have a real weapon in the second-year player.
HENRY RUGGS IS FAST. #RaiderNation
📺: #LVvsPIT on CBS
📱: NFL app pic.twitter.com/hjVv6vvE2y— NFL (@NFL) September 19, 2021
Solomon Thomas
It’s a shame that only one Raiders defender can crack the winners’ column, with an array of big performances from Las Vegas’ revamped group. But defensive tackle Solomon Thomas had two quarterback sacks, a tackle for loss, a tipped pass and three quarterback hits. He also threw in a roughing the passer penalty and an unsportsmanlike conduct call for good measure.
Team captain Maxx Crosby demands a nod here, too. His play on the edge led the way for Thomas and the entire group, showing no regard for Roethlisberger when he arrived in the backfield. Crosby laid several big hits on the Steelers’ star signal-caller from the game’s outset, good for an official five QB hits.
But Thomas had the most to gain with his performance. A former top-5 pick in the NFL Draft, he’s looking to rejuvenate his career. He took big steps toward that end on Sunday.
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