The Pittsburgh Steelers have been bitten hard by the injury bug this season, losing starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for multiple games. Now running back Le'Veon Bell is out for the season. Roethlisberger has since returned, replacing Landry Jones, who himself replaced Mike Vick, Roethlisberger's replacement.
Raiders vs. Steelers 2015 live stream: Time, TV schedule and how to watch online
Derek Carr and the Raiders face a depleted Steelers team on Sunday.
But Roethlisberger will have backup running back DeAngelo Williams as his starting running back when the Steelers play the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.
Bell has a torn MCL, and while you can't exaggerate his significance to Pittsburgh's offense, Williams looks like he has plenty left in the tank. Williams started the Steelers' first two games while Bell served a suspension, and looked every bit the strong starting running back, putting up 127 yards against the New England Patriots and 77 yards against the San Francisco 49ers.
Against the Cincinnati Bengals in Pittsburgh's last game, Williams came in for an injured Bell and carried the ball nine times for 71 yards, a per-carry average of 7.9 yards. On the season he has 63 carries for 310 yards and three touchdowns, sporting a per-carry average of 4.9 yards.
Roethlisberger was iffy in his first game back from injury. He completed 28 of 45 passes for 262 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions. He was also sacked three times for a loss of 22 yards and held up well. This was the first time Roethlisberger has thrown that many interceptions in a game in four years.
Roethlisberger will be going up against a Raiders defense that features Charles Woodson, a 39-year old safety, in its secondary. Everyone keeps waiting for Woodson to falter as players do at his age, but he currently leads the NFL with five interceptions and he'll be trying to snag a couple from Roethlisberger, who may not be at 100 percent yet.
Oakland’s defense has been opportunistic at times, but it still ranks 26th in the league against the pass, which should be good news for Roethlisberger. There is some bad news for Williams, though -- the Raiders rank second in the league in rushing yards allowed. Running backs run for just 82.9 yards on average against the Raiders.
Offensively, the Raiders are trending upward. Quarterback Derek Carr is playing well and he's finding his receivers in Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree with regularity. The Raiders dominated the New York Jets in their last game, a surprising win given how good the Jets have looked at times this season.
Carr threw for 333 yards and four touchdowns, and the Raiders actually blocked well for running back Latavius Murray. The running back picked up 113 yards on 20 carries, and he’ll be looking for another big game against the Steelers. Pittsburgh ranks 27th in the league against the pass, one spot worse than the Raiders, and 15th against the run.
That ranks well below Oakland, and despite the fact that both of these teams have four wins and that the Steelers have been much better in recent years, the Raiders look better on paper and could walk away from this game with a win.
How to Watch
When: 1 p.m. ET
Where: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Penn.
TV: CBS
Commentators: Ian Eagle, Dan Fouts, Evan Washburn
Online: NFL Game Pass
* * *
SB Nation presents: The Raiders are good now. For real.
See More:
