Raiders at Steelers 2022 Week 16: Surprises on Christmas Eve

The Las Vegas Raiders blew another golden opportunity on Christmas Eve, and here is what surprised us in the 13-10 loss to Pittsburgh.

The Raiders faced off against the Steelers Saturday night on Christmas Eve and things did not go the way everyone had hoped. No one doubted that the Steelers had plenty to play for in this game. Whether it was the fact they would officially be eliminated from the playoffs if they lost, or the fact Mike Tomlin has never had a sub .500 season as a Steelers head coach and a loss would do just that, or the fact Friday was the 50th Anniversary of the Immaculate Reception and the Steelers were retiring Franco Harris’ jersey four days after he passed away.

It seemed as if everything was pointing to a Steelers victory.

Coincidentally enough that is exactly what happened. After leading for the whole game all the way up until 45 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Raiders gave the game away in the final 5 minutes for the 4th time in their last four losses. It was 10-6 when Pittsburgh drove down on what would be their game-winning drive and went ahead with a touchdown pass from Kenny Pickett to George Pickens to take the lead 13-10, which would ultimately be the final score.

It would take a six-slide article to fully encompass all the things that took place that weren’t surprising, 99% of which would fall under the disappointing category for the Raiders and how the night turned out for them. There were a few surprises though, not only for the Raiders but for the game as a whole on this cold Christmas Eve matchup.