Raiders Offense Stalls Under a Cold Pittsburgh Night

The Las Vegas Raiders failed to move the ball downfield in the second half.

The Las Vegas Raiders (6-9) mathematically will finish the season with a losing record after dropping another loss when leading for most of the game on Saturday.

The first half of the game seemed promising for the Raiders, who were facing the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-8), who had a lot of emotion coming into this game after the passing of Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris, whose number was retired at halftime.

The Silver and Black lead, 10-3, at the end of the first half, but their offense would plummet as the Raiders would return to the field after halftime.

They would close out the game with six more drives that resulted in only three first downs, three punts and three interceptions.

Who is there to blame?

It’s Week 16, and the press conference after the games sounds like a broken record.

Bad execution and missed opportunities from both the coaches and the players.

The Raiders showed how impactful tight end Darren Waller and wide receiver Hunter Renfrow are to this offense, after both players have missed significant time because of injuries.

Derek Carr completed two big plays to Waller and Renfrow, which resulted in points in the first half, but would not add more in the second half and would finish the night throwing 16-of-30 for 174 passing yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.

The offensive line, while they played clean in regard to penalties, gave up three sacks, which moved the Raiders back in crucial times of the game.

The Steelers defense was on a mission to shut down the running game, and indeed held Raiders running back Josh Jacobs to 44 yards on 15 carries, after the NFL rushing leader was averaging 26 carries and nearly 135 yards a game.

Jacobs’ emotions were shown after the game: “It’s on us–it’s frustrating,” while there was much more that he said in between, it’s best to leave it there.

Pro Bowl wide receiver Davante Adams finished the game with only two catches for 15 yards, making it the third game this season in which Adams has been limited to under two catches and 15 yards in a game.

The only time that’s happened before in his career was in 2015, when Adams was in his second season in the league and a member of the Green Bay Packers.

Las Vegas has two tough games left at home for the remainder of the season, the San Francisco 49ers, who many have favored to reach the NFC Championship game, and the Kansas City Chiefs, who are favored to reach the AFC Championship game.

Those two games could either bring light to the future or more darkness to an already disappointing season for Raider Nation.

The Raiders' next game will be against the 49ers on Sunday Jan. 1, New Year’s Day at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

That game will kick off at 4:05 p.m. EST/1:05 p.m. PST and can be seen on FOX.

Watch the Silver and Black live when you get your Raiders tickets from SI Tickets HERE.

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