Pittsburg, PA
QB Switch Was Not Spark Raiders Hoped for vs. Steelers
The Las Vegas Raiders are now 2-4 after a 32-13 home loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, their second consecutive loss.
After a blowout loss last week, another multiple-score loss has the vibes around this team significantly low.
The Raiders made a change at quarterback ahead of this game, benching Gardner Minshew II for Aidan O’Connell. The move was made with hopes of offensive improvement in mind.
That was not the case.
The Raiders’ first drive of the game was impressive. They mixed run and pass and capped it off with an Alexander Mattison touchdown.
After that, the team got nothing going.
They went three and out twice after the touchdown drive. Dylan Laube’s first career carry ended in a fumble. They had a punt blocked. Ameer Abdullah fumbled. O’Connell threw an interception.
The Steelers’ defense was flat-out dominant, and the Raiders had no answers. After their first touchdown drive, they scored a garbage time touchdown in the fourth quarter, but that was it.
The Raiders were just 2-11 on third down in this game, their worst total this season. Their third-down offense has been a disaster this season, but this game was the worst of them all.
Las Vegas totaled just 275 yards of total offense, their third-lowest total this season. While Minshew struggled to move the ball at times, O’Connell did not look much better.
To be fair to O’Connell, he played without Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers, the Raiders’ top two receivers. He was also without Zamir White and Thayer Munford, two of the team’s top contributors.
This was an uphill battle from the beginning, but overall, the offense still struggled significantly, as it has all year.
The Raiders played against a Steelers offense that was not much better than they were; they just had more opportunities because of their defense. The Steelers did not give the Raiders many opportunities, but they did not take advantage of the opportunities they did have.
It will be interesting to see if Coach Antonio Pierce sticks with O’Connell this week or goes back to Minshew. They take on a struggling Los Angeles Rams team next week, a chance to bounce back.
O’Connell may need another opportunity to start when Meyers, White, and Munford return. That is when we would see how much of a change he could be for this offense.
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One of Pittsburgh’s biggest goals before hosting the NFL Draft was to modernize Market Square. It is just one of the spaces in the downtown area that is being transformed for the massive event.
Web Editor : Sydney Ross
Posted
2026 NFL Draft Pittsburgh regional transportation plan unveiled
With the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh quickly approaching, city officials and Pittsburgh Regional Transit unveiled its regional transportion plan.
Extensive road closures will be in place around Point State Park and Acrisure Stadium from April 22-25 as the 2026 NFL Draft brings three days of excitement and football fans into the city of Pittsburgh.
During NFL Draft events, the city’s Downtown and North Shore areas will convert to a walkable “Draft Campus,” with motorized traffic limited to Pittsburgh Regional Transit vehicles, the city’s light rail system (the “T”) and other official providers.
Therefore, many streets into and around the “Draft Campus” are closed to vehicle traffic starting April 22. Traffic patterns will be adjusted to allow Pirates fans to access PNC Park for baseball games held during the road closures, according to NFLDraftPittsburgh.com.
In addition to these streets, the Interstate 279 and Interstate 579 High Occupancy Vehicle lanes into the city are closed to vehicle traffic all week; only authorized bus traffic and emergency vehicles will be permitted to use those lanes.
People planning to use the Beaver County Transit Authority bus to reach downtown Pittsburgh for the NFL Draft events can find more information about the authority’s bus service plans on the BCTA website.
Here is the list of road closures in place from April 22-25, according to NFLDraftPittsburgh.com, which has a complete guide to getting into and around the city during NFL Draft events.
- Art Rooney Avenue
- West General Robinson Street to Tony Dorsett Drive
- Scotland Avenue
- Casino Drive, from Sproat Way
- North Shore Drive, from Chuck Noll Way
- Reedsdale Street to Tony Dorsett Drive
- Chuck Noll Way
- Tony Dorsett Drive
- Sproat Way
- Allegheny Avenue from Ridge Avenue
- North Shore Drive, from Chuck Noll Way to Mazeroski Way
- Mazeroski Way
- West General Robinson Street
- Lacock Street, from Federal Street
- Federal Street, from Lacock Street
- Merchant Street
- I-279 southbound exit 1B ramp
- I-279 northbound exit 1B ramp
- Route 65 southbound ramp to Fort Duquesne
- Route 65 northbound ramp from Fort Duquesne Bridge
- T1 ramp from Reedsdale Street and Ridge Avenue
- Sixth Street Bridge, aka the Roberto Clemente Bridge
- Seventh Street Bridge, aka the Andy Warhol Bridge
- Isabella Street
- Sixth Street
- Fort Pitt on ramp, from 10th Street Bypass and Fort Duquesne Boulevard
- Commonwealth Place
- Liberty Avenue extension
- Penn Avenue, from Stanwix Street to 9th Street
- Liberty Avenue/PPG Paints Arena exit off the Fort Pitt Bridge
- Smithfield Street Bridge
Pennsylvania’s 511PA.com online transportation website will feature a special NFL webpage providing real-time traffic information in and around the city during the NFL Draft.
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