LAS VEGAS — The Pittsburgh Steelers might have cracked the code for one George Pickens problem, but another one has arisen entirely. Pickens’ snap count ballooned against the Las Vegas Raiders to 45 snaps, the most out of any wide receiver on the team. He saw far more work in heavier personnel packages than a week ago when he played just 34 snaps, a career-low. That went well, and although the Steelers mixed in five different wide receivers and four different tight ends, Pittsburgh was able to maximize Pickens’ snaps.

Pickens, however, has now caught just six of his last 15 targets. The Steelers did not scheme him open much, outside of a 31-yard explosion from Justin Fields to Pickens on a post route. Instead, the team gave him far more one-on-one opportunities to make something happen with his great hands and body control. In a rare game where nothing went his way, Pickens did not make due with any of those opportunities.

While being the only legitimately consistent option in the wide receiver room, Pickens needs to make those plays. This one is not about effort or anything like that, either. Pickens just did not finish those plays.

The Steelers have to go into the film room and see what is going on with Pickens. This has not been a problem in his NFL career, and Pickens generally has some of the best hands in the NFL.

Even if some throws were not pinpointed, Pickens generally makes standout plays and steps up for his team. However, that has not been happening, and it is the biggest source of explosive plays in the passing game. If Pickens continues to struggle in these situations, the need for another wide receiver will become even more urgent as the Steelers look to expand their passing game.

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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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On paper, the Pittsburgh Steelers scoring a season-high 32 points in what ended as their most comfortable win of the season feels like a job well done. Beat the hapless Las Vegas Raiders by 19 in their place, break a two-game losing skid, prepare for back-to-back home games under the lights against the New York Jets and New York Giants. For Justin Fields, “good enough” isn’t good enough. Speaking to reporters postgame, he said Pittsburgh should’ve hung a crooked number on Las Vegas.

“I think we could have put more out,” Fields told reporters postgame via the Steelers’ team site. “A couple of mishaps, but 32 points is pretty solid. But we’re just gonna keep getting better, keep working, and hopefully we put up more next week.”

It was easily a season-high for the team in scoring and its most in a road win since Christmas in 2017, seven years ago, when the Steelers beat up on the Houston Texans, 34-6. Aided by turnovers and a blocked punt, Pittsburgh’s offense got going in the second half with 20 points to pull away after a slow start.

Still, there were missed moments. The Steelers’ offense was its typical sluggish self in the first half, sitting at six points until just before halftime. Pittsburgh’s promising opening drive stalled before another 50-plus-yard Chris Boswell field goal. They punted on their next two drives and settled for a field goal on the other, costly penalties backing them up and putting them in “and long” situations to dig out of. Pittsburgh finished the game with seven penalties for 50 yards, most of which came on the offense in the first half.

It wasn’t until T.J. Watt’s first punchout that the offense found a way to finish and even then, it took Fields improvising on 4th and 1 for the Steelers’ first touchdown. With crisper play, the Steelers could’ve made a push for 40.

Fields’ mentality is appreciated and it’s how he’s acted all year. Big wins, tough losses, he’s been the same guy. Measured and looking toward what can get better without getting caught up in the horizon, dismissing questions about his job standing or what wins can do for his future. He’s had the right attitude.

For Pittsburgh to carry out his mission, the offense will need to play cleaner, and Fields will need to be more accurate than he was in this one. There’s also the question if he’ll be given that chance or if Russell Wilson will pass him by next Sunday night.