NFL Week 6 scores and live updates: Bears beat Jaguars in London, channel, highlights, analysis, stats
By Mike DeFabo, Tashan Reed, Vic Tafur and Chris Licata
Justin Fields, Najee Harris and the Pittsburgh Steelers cruised through Las Vegas on Sunday on the way to their fourth win of the season, securing a 32-13 road victory over the reeling Raiders.
It marked the first 30-point showing by Mike Tomlin’s crew in 2024 and stopped the Steelers’ two-game skid in its tracks. Fields, making his sixth straight start, limited mistakes and combined with Harris for 165 rushing yards and all three of Pittsburgh’s touchdowns, all of which came on the ground.
After trailing 12-7 at half, the wheels fell off for Antonio Pierce’s Raiders in the following frames thanks to a pair of turnovers and a blocked punt. Quarterback Aidan O’Connell couldn’t muster momentum, outside of rookie tight end Brock Bowers’ game-high nine receptions and 71 receiving yards.
The Raiders travel to SoFi Stadium next Sunday to face the Los Angeles Rams, while the Steelers return to Pittsburgh to prepare for consecutive home tilts against the New York Jets and Giants.
Steelers’ defense responds in big way
When the Raiders marched 70 yards in 10 plays to score a touchdown on their opening series, it looked like it might be a long day for the Steelers’ defense. As it turned out, that was about all the Raiders did all day. T.J. Watt and company responded in a major way. Watt twice forced a fumble by punching the ball out, including on the goal line as the Raiders looked to cut the Steelers’ lead to one score early in the fourth quarter.
Cornerback Donte Jackson also got in on the action, intercepting O’Connell for his third pick of the season. The Steelers largely made the Raiders one-dimensional, holding them to 57 rushing yards. Overall, the Steelers limited the Raiders to 275 yards and 13 points. — Mike DeFabo, Steelers beat writer
Raiders’ quarterback switch didn’t matter
Pierce benched quarterback Gardner Minshew in favor of O’Connell this week. His hope was the second-year quarterback who started 10 games last year would provide the offense with a much-needed jolt. Instead, the decision was rendered meaningless as the offense put forth a miserable outing against the Steelers.
O’Connell completed 67.5 percent of his passes, but that’s a misleading figure given most of his successful passes came on quick dump-offs and short throws. On intermediate and deep throws, O’Connell was frequently inaccurate and missed several opportunities to extend drives or create big plays. He finished with 227 passing yards, one meaningless touchdown and a horrendous interception that came on a terrible overthrow.
That doesn’t mean the Raiders made a mistake in benching Minshew. He’s been bad since the Raiders’ win over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2, and there wasn’t much reason to believe he was going to turn things around.
What it does mean is that the Raiders don’t have an answer at quarterback on their roster. They could go back to Minshew or stick with O’Connell, but it doesn’t really feel like it matters either way. — Tashan Reed, Raiders senior writer
Training camp-style practices didn’t help Raiders’ tackling
The quarterback change the Raiders made last week overshadowed just how bad their tackling has been on defense this season. But a “training-camp” approach by Pierce in practice didn’t help Sunday in the loss.
Harris posterized Jack Jones on one run, made three efforts and trucked five Raiders on another run, and then eluded several more on a 36-yard run down the sideline.
The Raiders also didn’t have any answer when Fields took off running, as the Steelers averaged 5.2 yards per carry on 35 attempts.
The final margin could have been a lot worse, but Fields overthrew at least five open receivers. The Raiders weren’t able to get much pressure in their first game without injured defensive tackle Christian Wilkins. — Vic Tafur, Raiders senior writer
Fields provides spark on the ground, Harris comes alive
For a considerable chunk of the game, the Steelers’ offense was touch-and-go. Fields was inaccurate on a number of instances and other times slow to go through his progressions. He completed 14 of 24 passes for 145 yards and took three sacks. However, his scrambling ability provided Pittsburgh with the spark it needed, as he rushed for 59 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
And then Harris made his presence felt. The former first-round pick had a noticeable burst beginning with his first carry of the game. In the second half, he had a season-long run of 26 yards and then in the very same series one-upped himself with a 36-yard run during which he dove, with the ball outstretched in one hand, for his first touchdown of the season.
It was the first time all year Harris rushed for more than 100 yards. If it continues like this, the Steelers may have taken a step toward the run-heavy identity they desire. — DeFabo
Raiders’ receivers look lackluster sans Davante Adams
The Raiders didn’t have much at wide receiver on Sunday, with Adams waiting to get traded and Jakobi Meyers out with ankle injury. And it showed, with the Raiders not even completing a pass to a wide receiver until the final seconds of the first half.
Alex Bachman led Raiders wideouts with three catches, good for 31 yards, while speedster Tre Tucker was held without a catch. He had 37 of the Raiders quintet’s 43 career catches coming into the game, but the jump to being covered by No. 1 cornerbacks like Joey Porter Jr. was too big for him
Kristian Wilkerson, who had four catches with the Patriots in 2021, did get a garbage-time touchdown. Wilkerson almost made the roster out of training camp before being placed on the practice squad and is a 6-foot-1 physical receiver who O’Connell is comfortable with.
Adams remained out with a hamstring, and while he has asked for a trade, talks have been slow thus far. Pierce said Wednesday that Adams has been rehabbing at the team facility and “is in a good headspace.” — Tafur
Required reading
- How Tom Brady could buy into the Raiders and why he wants a piece of the NFL pie
- Raiders name Aidan O’Connell starting quarterback for Week 6 game vs. Steelers
- Russini’s what I’m hearing: Saleh’s foiled plan to save Jets offense, Steelers’ Justin Fields feelings
- Steelers coverage busts are a problem. Inside the issues and possible fixes: Film room
(Photo: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
