A more comprehensive recap and thoughts from me soon enough, but a few preliminary notes from the Pittsburgh Steelers fourth straight loss on Sunday - a 27-24 stunning defeat at the hands of the lowly Oakland Raiders. Congratulations to Pittsburgh native Bruce Gradkowski and the Raiders for pulling off the stunner at Heinz Field. Once again though, the Steelers did everything in their power to hand away the game late in the contest.
* The Oakland Raiders had yet to score 21 points in any game this year. They scored 21 points in the 4th quarter alone to come from behind and beat the Steelers. Oh my.
* 229 yards of total offense for Oakland on their last three drives - all touchdowns.
* Redzone inefficiency kept this game closer than it should have been. Pittsburgh mustered just three points on their first three trips inside the Oakland 20. Even getting two more field goals there puts the Steelers in healthy position. Instead, the Steelers failed on a 4th and 1 attempt from the 5 yard line and Big Ben threw a costly interception late in the 1st half.
* There's a whole lot to be disappointed and frustrated with in this most recent late-game meltdown, but remember that if Joe Burnett makes the most elementary and simple of interceptions on that final drive, the Steelers win. There was nobody near the rookie cornerback. And it's not like he doesn't have a solid history of snagging the ball when given the chance - at least in college. But on the big stage of the National Football League with his team needing a play, Burnett totally whiffed on an interception that hit him between the 2 and the 7.
* Probably time for this team - players and coaches - to keep their mouth shut and just play this next four games. They're still not down for the count just yet, but they're awfully close. And by now, they've proven that they're just not as formidable as they and we all thought they were heading in to the season.
* More from me soon. Groan away here for now.