Reasonable expectations for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022 Week 16
By Brad Weiss
The Las Vegas Raiders take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 16, and here are some reasonable expectations for the Silver and Black.
On Christmas Eve night, the Las Vegas Raiders will travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers in a matchup of two teams fighting for their playoff lives. Both sitting at 6-8, a loss for either team all but eliminates them from playoff contention, so you can expect an exciting matchup in Pittsburgh on Saturday night.
Coming east, especially on a short week, is never an easy thing to do for a west coast team like the Raiders, but at least they are playing in primetime. This matchup will wrap up the Christmas Eve slate for the NFL, and with so much emotion coming into this one, I believe we could be in for a dogfight inside Acrisure Stadium.
Reasonable expectations for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022 Week 16
Carr will struggle
The weather is cold, so that means Las Vegas Raiders starting quarterback Derek Carr is going to struggle on Saturday night. This is not any new news when it comes to the Silver and Black, as Carr has a history of underwhelming under these kinds of conditions.
If the Raiders somehow hope to leave Pittsburgh with a victory and stay alive in the playoff race, they will need a much better effort from Carr than he has not only shown the last few weeks but in cold weather his entire career.
One-score game goes down to the wire
These two teams are pretty evenly matchup, and with both of them hanging onto their slim playoff chances, this one is going to go down to the wire. Las Vegas and Pittsburgh have a long history of some epic games, and with the weather being what it is, and both teams sitting with the same record, this has a chance to be an instant classic.
I believe the two teams will seesaw throughout the night, with none really taking a strong advantage early on. In the end, it may come down to who has the football last that comes away with their seventh victory of the season.
Maxx Crosby will dominate coming off the edge
On Wednesday, Maxx Crosby was named to his second straight Pro Bowl and has a chance to be an All-Pro this season as well. Madd Maxx has burst into the NFL and become a legitimate star, and on Saturday night, he will battle it out against a Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line that he should have no problem blowing up.
This game will showcase two of the best young edge rushers in the game in Crosby and TJ Watt, and you are certain to hear their numbers called throughout the contest. For Crosby, I would not be surprised to see him bring down Steelers rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett more than once on Saturday night.