The 26-17 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday was an all-around team effort by the Raiders. And the numbers prove that.
The Raiders were able to pick up a win on the road against a Steelers team coming off a Week 1 win against the Buffalo Bills. The Silver and Black played well as a whole in all three facets of the game. Here's a few numbers to back it up.
Offense
425
Even with an unsteady run game, the Raiders offense was still able to get it done in a big way. The Silver and Black produced 425 yards of total offense against the Steelers defense.
Of that total, 391 of those yards came from quarterback Derek Carr, who passed for 382 yards and rushed for nine. Peyton Barber stepped up and had a solid first game as a Raider as well, recording 32 yards on 13 carries in place of an injured Josh Jacobs.
53
Rookie right tackle Alex Leatherwood missed the second half of the game with an oblique injury, however Brandon Parker stepped in and the Raiders offense didn't miss a beat.
After Parker came in the game, he played 53 percent of the snaps on the offensive line that helped propel the Raiders to the win. Parker had to do the same thing on numerous occasions last season with the offensive line's injury woes – so he was certainly ready when his number was called.
21.42
We knew Henry Ruggs III was fast, but damn.
Derek Carr linked up with Ruggs on a 61-yard bomb in the fourth quarter that put the Raiders up 23-14. On that catch, Ruggs clocked a speed of 21.42 mph while running to the ball, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. This is his career-best with the ball in his hands. The second-year wideout ended the game as the Raiders' leading receiver with five catches and 113 yards.
Defense
617
Before Sunday, the last time Solomon Thomas got a sack in a game was in the 49ers' Divisional Round victory over the Minnesota Vikings in January of 2020.
Since then, 617 days have transpired between his sack in that game and the first one he got against the Steelers. Thomas – who suffered a season-ending ACL tear last season – has been a large part of the Raiders' revamped pass-rush this season. Thomas ended the day with two sacks on Ben Roethlisberger, making it the first multiple sack game of his five year NFL career.
"There's nothing like getting a sack," Thomas said after the game. "It's the best thing in the world. No matter how you get it, even if it's a coverage sack or another guy makes him step up, you always celebrate it because they're rare. You've got to count them out."
11
The duo of Maxx Crosby and Yannick Ngakoue have been something to marvel at so far this season.
After both receiving 90-plus PFF grades for their play against Lamar Jackson, they continued to turn up the volume on Ben Roethlisberger. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, the duo combined for 11 quarterback pressures Sunday. The consistent pressure led to Roethlisberger overthrowing a pass down the field that was intercepted by Trayvon Mullen Jr. in the first quarter. Crosby and Ngakoue have combined for 26 pressures this season.
0
It was a no fly zone on Casey Hayward Jr.'s side of the field.
The All-Pro cornerback has shown his worth to this Gus Bradley-led defense so far. No. 29 had two pass deflections that were almost interceptions in his matchup with Chase Claypool on Sunday. In his 36 coverage snaps against the Steelers, Hayward allowed zero completions, nor has he allowed a completion in the five targets that have come in his direction this season. Currently, he has a 90.2 PFF coverage grade this season.
Talk about lockdown.
Special Teams
100
If the numbers truly don't lie, then you have to say Daniel Carlson is one of the best kickers in the NFL right now.
Against the Steelers, Carlson made 100 percent of his field goals and extra points. In total, Carlson put 14 points on the board for the Raiders. Not only did Carlson not miss a kick against the Steelers, he hasn't missed a kick this season. In his two games this season, Carlson is 6-for-6 in fields goals and 5-for-5 in extra points.
2
This number indicates AJ Cole's success in punting the ball against the Steelers.
Cole put the Raiders defense in great field position throughout the afternoon, placing two punts inside the 20. Through two games, Cole has placed four punts inside the 20. While the exceptional punting of Cole may go unnoticed at times, the success of the defense is representative of what he's able to provide with his foot to back up opposing offenses.
