Darren McFadden's 113-yard performance, buoyed by a 64-yard romp on his first carry will be what dominates the stats for the Raiders.
But this game should be about Carson Palmer's throwing. In a game that saw him out-gained 384-209 by Ben Roethlisberger, Palmer consistently made throws on third down to keep Raider drives alive.
I stated that the Raiders would not be able to sustain drives against the Steeler defense. I was obviously wrong. Palmer kept throws in the intermediate range and wound up 24/34 with three touchdowns.
There have been games in his Raider stint where the numbers looked better, but Palmer has not played better since his arrival. His lone mistake was the product of Denarius Moore falling on the infield dirt, leading to a Ryan Clark interception.
Defensively, the Raiders did manage to shut the Steeler running game down (54 yards on 20 carries). However, for most of the game, they were shredded by Roethlisberger, who hit passes in all situations on his way to four touchdowns.
That said, the Raiders made plays in the fourth quarter when necessary. A pass to Antonio Brown was completed, but Pat Lee made a nice strip and after a little hot potato, Phillip Wheeler recovered.
Then, the Raider defense rose up to stop the Steelers' last drive with their lone sack (Richard Seymour) and pressure from Miles Burris to force an errant throw.
By no means was the defense good overall. But in classic Raider fashion, plays were made with the game on the line. Not in classic Raider fashion, the team was once again highly disciplined, committing only three penalties for 25 yards.
By not beating themselves, Oakland was able to make plays to win its first game...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Oakland Raiders
