Steelers build lead, hold on vs. Raiders in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS – Mike Tyson was on the field before the game. Lil Wayne performed at halftime. Carrie Underwood and Flavor Flav were shown on the Allegiant Stadium scoreboard, too.

The Las Vegas Raiders brought the glitz and glamour to their Sunday night encounter. The Pittsburgh Steelers brought their hard hats – and thousands of fans.

Grit and determination won out as the Steelers played their best collective game of the season and defeated the Raiders, 23-18, in their first trip to this desert locale.

The win was the Steelers’ first on the road against the Raiders since 1995, ending a string of four consecutive losses on visiting soil to the former Oakland franchise.

It also was a win for the much-maligned Steelers offense, which had totaled two touchdowns through two weeks. Kenny Pickett threw a pair of touchdown passes — a career first in 16 games — and Chris Boswell kicked three field goals, including a 57-yarder.

The Steelers scored 23 straight points before they had to hold on for their second win in a row.

“We just kept going, kept believing in each other and believing in the system and what we are asked to do,” said tight end Pat Freiermuth, who had a 13-yard touchdown catch among three receptions. “We pulled together and were able to do that.”

Trailing 23-7 in the fourth quarter after Freiermuth’s touchdown, the Raiders got a touchdown, 2-point conversion and field goal to trim the deficit to five points with 2:22 remaining.

The Steelers picked up a first down on a third-down completion to Allen Robinson. When the Raiders got the ball back only 12 seconds remained. Levi Wallace got the third takeaway by the defense — and his second interception of the game — when he picked off Jimmy Garoppolo with 0:05 to play to seal the win.

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“I loved the way the team fought, the way the communication was, us being where we were supposed to be to make those plays,” said cornerback Patrick Peterson, who had the other interception.

Steeler Nation provided a boost as more than half of the fans at Allegiant Stadium represented the black and gold. Chants of “Here We Go Steelers” and “Dee-fense” rang out during the game.

“It was awesome,” Pickett said. “When the other team has to go silent as well, it’s a huge advantage for us.”

“We have to win the crowd,” coach Mike Tomlin added. “You’ve got to do enough to win the crowd. We don’t take it for granted. We have to make enough plays to get that type of support.”

Pickett threw a 72-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Austin in the first quarter to get an offense that had gone three-and-out on its first two series on track. The Steelers also rushed for 105 yards, surpassing their total (96) through the first two weeks. Najee Harris had 65 yards on 19 carries as the Steelers showed better balance (31 runs to 28 pass attempts) than they had all season.

Pickett completed 16 passes for 235 yards. He was sacked once and hit just four other times, and he finished with a career-best 108.5 passer rating.

The defense chipped in with more hits than a blackjack dealer typically sees at one of the casinos on the famed Vegas strip. The Raiders hadn’t allowed a sack this season until T.J. Watt twice dropped Garoppolo, who was sacked four times overall.

The Steelers turned the first interception by Wallace and the one by Peterson into 10 points. Linebacker Cole Holcomb had a jarring hit on Davante Adams over the middle that caused an incompletion, and the defense also forced a turnover on downs in the fourth quarter.

“I felt like we were having fun out there, playing with a lot of energy,” Holcomb said. “We were communicating like crazy out there. It’s getting to the point where we are jelling as a defense.

The Raiders went eight consecutive possessions without points until Garoppolo threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Adams and a 2-point conversion pass to Michael Mayer with 5:41 to play.

The drive was aided by two defensive penalties against the Steelers, including a roughing-the-passer call that negated a Minkah Fitzpatrick sack, and the Raiders got a do-over on the 2-point try after another penalty.

The Steelers went three-and-out and gave the ball back to the Raiders near midfield with 4:35 to play.

The Raiders marched to the 24 where they faced a fourth-and-1. After a false start pushed the ball back, the Raiders sent out the field-goal unit. DeMarvin Leal was flagged for leverage on the kick, and the penalty gave the Raiders a first down at the 14.

The defense held, and the Raiders elected to have Daniel Carlson kick a 26-yard field goal to cut the Steelers’ lead to 23-18 with 2:22 to play.

After making kicks from 43 and 42 yards, Boswell’s distance was tested on the first drive of the third quarter when he was called on to attempt a 57-yarder. He sent this one between the uprights, too, giving the Steelers a 16-7 advantage.

Peterson’s interception set up an 81-yard touchdown drive that provided the Steelers with a 23-7 lead with 3:56 to play in the third.

The Steelers covered that distance in six plays, with five going for double-digit gains. Pickett worked the middle, finding George Pickens for 17 yards, Jaylen Warren for 16 and Freiermuth for 14. After a Harris run gained 17 yards, Pickett found Freiermuth in the left corner on a play-action call for a 13-yard score.

“You saw a lot of different things on that drive,” Pickett said. “That’s a positive we can take away.”