At 4-4, the Steelers face a must win game against a surprisingly good 4-3 Oakland Raider team. The Steelers cannot afford to lose another AFC game, at home, and think they’ll have a shot at the playoffs in 2015. If there was ever a pivotal game in a season, this would be it. Without LeVeon Bell, the troops need to rally around DeAngelo Williams, will they take care of business or will they fall into a deep hole?
Here are the keys to the game for a Steelers victory:
1. Big Ben-He played pretty poorly last week, throwing three picks in his return. The offense starts with him and he needs to ensure it’s as fluid as ever, now that Bell is out.
2. DeAngelo Williams-He’ll carry the workload and he may need to have the ball handed to him 20-25 times. He’s a capable work horse but can he catch the ball out of the backfield like Bell?
3. The team must win the turnover battle. It’s always a factor but after last week, it’s a big one. They need to protect the football first and foremost but they need to create turnovers on defense and assist the offense in gaining good field position.
4. The black and gold must find a way to crush the Raiders spirits early. The Raiders are a young team and they play hard and are being rewarded for it with victories in four games this season. Their youth however can work against them. If the Steelers can get up early and just pound the ball down the Raiders throats, they can crush their spirits and run away with the game. If they let the Raiders hang around and make some plays, it could be a game that comes down to the end.
A few things to watch for this week:
1. DeAngelo Williams-this is his team now, from the running game perspective. He needs to get 75 yards or more and show us the power running style that he has.
2. Heath Miller-Miller was a monster last week, posting 10 catches and over 100 yards. Will he put up more of the same?
3. Ryan Shazier-He’s been quiet since his return to the field but I look for him to bust out in a big way this Sunday.
4. Antonio Brown-He started to get some of the magic back with Ben on the field last week but I think this is the week he shows up in full force, posting at least 8 catches and 110 yards with a TD.
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