Steelers vs. Raiders score, takeaways: Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh's offense get mojo back, improve to 2-1

Pittsburgh played perfect complementary football on Sunday night

The Steelers offense got their mojo back, and Pittsburgh picked up an 23-18 win on Sunday night over Las Vegas. 

After being publicly challenged by Mike Tomlin, the Steelers offense had their best outing of the season against a Raiders defense that continues to miss Chandler Jones. It was an especially good night for quarterback Kenny Pickett, who surely silenced a good portion of his doubters after throwing multiple touchdowns while helping propel Pittsburgh to a 2-1 start. 

The Steelers defense also had another strong outing. Six days after scoring two touchdowns in a win over Cleveland, Pittsburgh's defense forced three interceptions of Jimmy Garoppolo, who opened the game with a 32-yard touchdown pass to Davante Adams. T.J. Watt had two sacks, while cornerbacks Levi Wallace (two) and Patrick Peterson came up with big interceptions. 

Pittsburgh's successful evening also included clutch kicking by Chris Boswell, who drilled field goals of 44, 54 and 57 yards. 

While Pittsburgh played complementary football, Las Vegas largely failed to do so. The Raiders' lone bright spot on the night was Adams, whose second touchdown helped make things interesting late in the fourth quarter. But the Raiders' hopes of a comeback faded when Wallace picked off Garoppolo again with 12 seconds left. 

Here's a closer look as how the Steelers improved to 2-1 on the season. 

Why the Steelers won 

The Steelers played winning football in all three phases. After a slow start, Pittsburgh's offense had its best game of the season. Pickett had his first multi-touchdown pass game in the NFL, while the Steelers running game eclipsed 100 yards for the first time in 2023. 

Along with having more run support (which led to Pickett having success on play-action passing), there were a few other keys to Pickett's success. For a second straight week, he received solid protection and was sacked just one time. Pickett also did a good job spreading the ball around to his playmakers after mostly looking George Pickens' way during the season's first two weeks. 

Pickett didn't forget about his No. 1 target on Sunday, though, as Pickens made several big catches that helped the Steelers put points on the board. His 32-yard catch set up Boswell's third field goal that extended Pittsburgh's lead to 16-7 less than six minutes into the second half. His 17-yard grab on the Steelers' ensuing drive helped set up Pickett's touchdown pass to Pat Freiermuth. 

Defensively, Pittsburgh got big performances from its stars as well as its supporting cast. One such play was turned in by rookie defensive lineman Keeanu Benson, whose fourth-quarter sack prevented Garoppolo from hitting a wide open Jakobi Meyers downfield for what would have been a sure touchdown. 

Along with Boswell, Pittsburgh's special teams also received a clutch moment from punter Pressley Harvin III, who helped seal the win with his 56-yard punt in the game's final seconds. 

Why the Raiders lost 

While they played better than they did last Sunday (a 38-10 thumping in Buffalo), the Raiders continue to not do the fundamental things necessary to win games. Josh Jacobs was better (he had 69 yards on 17 carries Sunday after gaining just 46 in Las Vegas' first two games), but the running game continues to provide little support for Garoppolo and the passing game after gaining just 69 yards on 19 carries on Sunday night. 

Defensively, the Raiders have yet to force a turnover this season, which is a big reason why Josh McDaniels' team has a -7 turnover ratio through three games. 

The Raiders did receive a brilliant game from Adams, who caught 13 passes for 172 yards along with his two touchdowns. Adams is now just 41 receiving yards away from 10,000 for his career. 

Turning point 

This game was going the Raiders' way early on, with Las Vegas up 7-0 and Pittsburgh's offense doing little on its first two drives. But the complexion of the game changed on Pickett's 72-touchdown pass to second-year wideout Calvin Austin III on the Steelers' third drive of the night. 

Austin's first career touchdown was the first of five consecutive scores by the Steelers, who recorded their first road win against the Raiders since Dec. 10, 1995. 

Play of the Game 

Pickett's game-winning touchdown pass to Freiermuth epitomized the promise that exists within the Steelers offense. On the play (which was a perfect call by OC Matt Canada), Pickett rolled out and had three different options to choose from before hitting Freiermuth in stride for the score. 

Quotable 

"It was big. We needed it. They were doing a really good job of doubling George all night, making it really hard to get him touches, so that leaves other guys singled up. Calvin had press, he took the post and it was really good. We missed that earlier in the season against San Fran, and it was good to hit it tonight." -- Pickett on the touchdown pass to Austin, which was Pickett's second touchdown pass of over 70 yards in as many weeks 

What's next 

Pittsburgh will head to Houston to face a Texans team that routed the Jaguars on Sunday to post its first win of the season. Houston's 37-17 win was spearheaded by rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud, who threw for 280 yards and a pair of touchdowns. 

Las Vegas will travel to California to face the Chargers, who won their first game Sunday after defeating the still-winless Vikings. L.A. received another big game from quarterback Justin Herbert, who threw for 405 yards and three touchdowns in the Chargers' 28-24 win. 

[Sep 24, 2023 at 11:27 pm ET · Bryan DeArdo]

Raiders are going to get the ball with less than 20 seconds left and no timeouts. Pressley Harvin III struggled in Week 1 but had the best game of his three-year career during Monday night's win over Cleveland. He has a booming punt -- 56 yards -- that pins the Raiders inside the 15-yard-line. 

[Sep 24, 2023 at 11:23 pm ET · Bryan DeArdo]

Big completion from Pickett to Allen Robinson at the two-minute warning. 

[Sep 24, 2023 at 11:21 pm ET · Bryan DeArdo]

Raiders take their first TO with 2:17 left. Steelers five yards away from likely sewing up this game. 

[Sep 24, 2023 at 11:18 pm ET · Bryan DeArdo]

If anything, the penalty hurt the Raiders by taking 50 seconds off the clock. Either way, Carlson kicks a FG and the Raiders cut deficit to 23-18 with 2:22 left. 

[Sep 24, 2023 at 11:16 pm ET · Bryan DeArdo]

Leverage penalty on DeMarvin Leal gives the Raiders a first down. Wild turn of events in Las Vegas. 

[Sep 24, 2023 at 11:10 pm ET · Bryan DeArdo]

Steelers quickly punt after Pickett unable to connect with Freiermuth. 

[Sep 24, 2023 at 11:03 pm ET · Bryan DeArdo]

Officials getting involved late in the game. Questionable call on Fitzpatrick helped set up Adams' second score, and Chandon Sullivan penalized on the Raiders' two-point try. Each completion to rookie Michael Mayer, and the Raiders cut their deficit to 8 points.