Steelers vs. Raiders, Week 14: 1st quarter in-game update

The Pittsburgh Steelers entered Week 14 reeling. After back-to-back losses to the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers, their playoff, and division, standings were hanging in the balance. On paper, it seemed as if the 2-10 Oakland Raiders would be the perfect medicine for what ails the Steelers.

However, the game isn’t played on paper.

After winning the coin toss, the Steelers elected to defer their possession to the start of the second half, giving Jon Gruden’s group first possession to start the game. It didn’t take long for Derek Carr to move the team down the field, and this was due to tight end Jared Cook. The Raiders ran on first down, and then two passes to Cook moved Oakland into the red-zone. A few Doug Martin goal line carries equated in the Raiders touchdown on the opening drive of the game.

The Steelers’ first possession saw them already trailing 7-0, and were able to must just one first down before punting the ball back to Oakland. The Raiders’ first punt of the game set up Pittsburgh at the 33-yard line for their second possession.

Pittsburgh has the ball nearing the red-zone to end the first quarter.