Raiders week 9 Report Card vs Steelers: Offense lights up the scoreboard

The fact that this game was even close is a miracle. The Raiders fumbled the ball FIVE times, three of which the Steelers recovered. On top of that, Carr threw an interception on a miscommunication error. And on top of that, the Raiders receivers had four drops in the game, two of which killed drives and would have been first downs. But despite the turnovers, Derek Carr and the Raiders offense put up 35 points to keep the Raiders in the game.

Quarterback: A-

Derek Carr was dealing. He has improved vastly in his second year and it showed against the Steelers. Barring a miscommunication with his receiver that led to an interception, Carr played a great game. He threw for 301 yards and four touchdowns which gives him 19 touchdowns to just four interceptions on the season. Even after Latavius Murray left the game in the third quarter, Carr kept the Raiders in the game and capped a 69-yard drive with a beautiful touchdown throw to Michael Crabtree which tied the game with a minute left.

Running Backs: B

The Raiders running backs combined for 139 yards rushing and a touchdown while averaging 5.6 yards a carry. Those numbers are really impressive on the road, but the flipside is they also fumbled three times. Latavius Murray fumbled twice (one of which wasn't really his fault as he was knocked out) and Taiwan Jones had another fumble at running back. Fumbles killed the Raiders against the Bears, and it did so again on Sunday.

Wide Receivers: B+

Michael Crabtree had himself a game with 108 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Amari Cooper also played well recording 88 receiving yards and a touchdown. But this group had 2 drops on Sunday and it shot the Raiders in the foot. One of those drops should have been first downs and ended up killing the drive.

Tight Ends: C

Mychal Rivera had a nice 3rd down conversion and Clive Walford had a touchdown, but that was about it from the Raiders tight ends as they combined with four receptions for 19 yards. Just like the receivers, the tight ends had problems with drops, one of which cost the Raiders a first down and killed their drive.

Offensive Line: A+

This group is having a phenomenal year and established itself as one of the best in the NFL. Give Mike Tice credit here, it takes a lot of effort to make Austin Howard and J'Marcus Webb look good. The Steelers couldn't stop the run all game, and even more impressive is that the Raiders offensive line didn't give up a single sack.

Overall Offense: B+

Any time a team scores 35 points, they should win that game. The only reason the offense didn't score an A for me is because they had four turnovers throughout the game that could have culminated into more points.

Coaching (O): A

Credit Offensive Coordinator Bill Musgrave for some great play calling. He established the run early in the game and it balanced nicely with the passing game. The result was 35 points on the road in east coast time zone.

Coaching (D): F

While the players are at fault for this horrific performance, so is Ken Norton Jr. The Steelers had their way with him both through the rushing attack and through the air. When a receiver has 180 receiving yards in the first half alone, you may want to adjust your coverage. That didn't happen as brown had over 100 yards in the second half.

That last drive of the game, the Raiders decided to play in man coverage only to watch Antonio Brown toast them for a long gain leading to the Steelers game winning field goal.

See the Report Card for the Defense