Who will keep the playoff dreams alive?

The Steelers host the Raiders on Saturday night. It’s a so-called do-or-die game, as the loser in this clash will have to say goodbye to playoff hopes.

At Heinz Field Stadium, betting odds point to a home win between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Las Vegas Raiders. However, the visitors have won four of their last five games and are therefore on a roll. The wins against Seattle and New England are particularly noteworthy.

The Steelers currently have three wins from their past five games. Wins have come against the Colts, the Falcons and the Panthers. These are certainly not all benchmarks for the upcoming game, as the Raiders are on a completely different level, especially on offense. With Pittsburgh winning just three of seven home games, the odds seem a little too far apart between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Las Vegas Raiders, even if Mike Tomlin’s team has the fans behind them.

In our eyes, Davante Adams is one of the key players in this matchup. The wide receiver is the Raiders’ top scorer and one of the best players at his position. Since Pittsburgh seems to be quite susceptible against the passing game, Adams is especially challenged.

Most recently, he went two games without a touchdown, but a streak of three straight games has not happened yet this season. For this reason, we recommend betting on a touchdown for the wide receiver between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Las Vegas Raiders.

Pittsburgh Steelers – Statistics & current form

The Steelers are in thirteenth place in the AFC after fourteen games. With six wins and eight losses, their chances of making the NFL playoffs are slim. If Mike Tomlin’s team loses the game against the Las Vegas Raiders, the playoffs could already be history. In the preseason Pittsburgh reached the playoffs and therefore the result would be a big disappointment. However, if the team wins the remaining three games, it could still be enough on its own.

Najee Harris

The Steelers are pretty harmless on offense, averaging just 17.9 points per game. Neither the passing game nor the running game stand out and the only constant in the game seems to be running back Harris. He is the team’s top scorer with eight touchdowns and also ranks sixteenth league-wide with 790 rushing yards. With five touchdowns in the past five games, he is currently the player keeping playoff hopes alive. However, he is currently banged up but is likely to play.

Johnson x Pickens

Pittsburgh lacks quality at the wide receiver position. Still, with Diontae Johnson and George Pickens, the Steelers have two plays on the roster that are at least top-50 pass receivers. However, the duo could only score two touchdowns and accordingly are not particularly efficient. Johnson is questionable for the upcoming game as he is dealing with a toe injury. Of course, it’s not just the receivers who are being criticised, as quarterback Kenny Pickett is also playing through the roof.

Defensive

Pittsburgh will have to hope on defence in their game against the LV Raiders. On average, Mike Tomlin’s team allows 22.1 points and is very solid. This is mainly due to the good defence against the running game, as the Steelers only allow an average of 109.0 rushing yards. The defence against the passing game is weak, however, and that could be crucial against the offensively potent Raiders. The visitors have their qualities in both areas and will certainly be able to cause problems.

Key Pittsburgh Steelers Players:
QB: Kenny Pickett – RB: Najee Harris – WR: George Pickens – S: Minna Fitzpatrick – K: Chris Boswell

Las Vegas Raiders – Statistics & current form

The Raiders are only two places ahead of the Steelers and therefore in eleventh place in the American Football Conference. Josh McDaniels’ team is also on six wins and eight losses. Therefore, the starting position for the team from Las Vegas is identical. The loser of this game can very likely hang up the dream of the NFL playoffs. The rest of the programme following this game is a tough one and therefore Pittsburgh’s chances are slightly better overall.

Josh Jacobs

The running back from Las Vegas is currently the best player at his position. In fourteen games he was able to run for 1,495 yards and is thus clearly at the top. With eleven touchdowns he is the best scorer in the team behind Davante Adams. The special thing about him is clearly his size, because with only 1.77 m he is one of the smallest running backs in the NFL. He is having the season of his life, even though he is only 24 years old. We will certainly be hearing and seeing a lot more of him in the future.

Davante Adams

The Raiders also have a superstar at the wide receiver position. Davante Adams is the top scorer on the team with twelve touchdowns and also has the most touchdowns of any wide receiver. He has also caught passes for 1,275 yards, making him one of the NFL’s elite. On the offensive side, Las Vegas is very well staffed and extremely dangerous. Josh McDaniels’ team is averaging 24.1 points per game, which ranks tenth in the league.

Defensive

The defence is clearly the Raiders’ weak point, as the team allows an average of 24.1 points. However, the defence shouldn’t have too much trouble against a rather weak Steelers offence. While LV is very solid against the run game, the defence seems to have more problems with the opposing passing game. On average, Josh McDaniels’ team is allowing 244.3 passing yards. Since Pittsburgh is rather weak in the passing game, the Raiders should have a small advantage overall.

Key players for the Las Vegas Raiders:
QB: Derek Carr – RB: Josh Jacobs – WR: Davante Adams – ML: Denzel Perryman – K: Daniel Carlson

Pittsburgh Steelers – Las Vegas Raiders Head-to-head comparison / H2H record

In the direct comparison between the two teams, the visitors have the lead. The Raiders managed to win seventeen of the 31 duels and thus walked off the field as losers fourteen times. The last meeting between the two teams was only a year ago.

Back then, Las Vegas won 26:17 in Pittsburgh. In fact, Josh McDaniels’ team has won four of the past five games against the Steelers. For this reason, between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Las Vegas Raiders, our prediction goes in the direction of the visitors.

Pittsburgh Steelers – Las Vegas Raiders Tip

If we look at the odds before the duel between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Las Vegas Raiders, the bookmakers seem to assume a home win. After intensive analysis, we disagree and actually see the visitors ahead. The Raiders’ offensive game is simply too strong for the hosts and their own offence will not be able to catch that. For a Las Vegas win, we get odds of 2.22 at one of the biggest bookmakers Betano, which almost has to be played on.

For our main bet we want to minimise the risk a bit. Therefore, between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Las Vegas Raiders, we play the tip on a handicap win for the visitors of +3.5 points. Since the Steelers are not particularly dominant on the offensive side, a significant defeat for the visitors seems very unlikely. In addition, some players of Mike Tomlin’s team are injured.