The Pittsburgh Steelers are gearing up for the 2024 regular season, and with it being the team’s sixth game fans’ hopes remain high heading into the second quarter of the season. The hope is there is a winning performance on the horizon on Sunday in Week 6 when the team travels to play the Las Vegas Raiders in Nevada.

What exactly do the Steelers need to do to on offense to claim their fourth victory of 2024? Let’s break it down…

Defense

Make them one-dimensional

The Raiders running game has been struggling this season, averaging just 84 yards per game on the ground, but stop me if you’ve heard this story before. Yes, it was the same one told a week ago when the weak Cowboys running game came to Pittsburgh and were able to run it effectively. If the Steelers want to beat the Raiders and get out of their current funk, they’ll need to make the Raiders one-dimensional and force the ball into the quarterback’s hands. More on that shortly…

Get after the QB

The Las Vegas offensive line hasn’t been one of the better units in the league, and they are surrendering the 4th most sacks this season, 17 in total. To date, the Steelers defense has registered 13 sacks this year, and this could be a great opportunity for them to add to that total. However, they are going to have to do it in a different way than they typically have. Instead of hoping T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith and/or Nick Herbig can win their matchup, Watt won’t be able to do it all himself with Jeremiah Moon and a number of lesser known players opposite him. This is a game where Cam Heyward, Larry Ogunjobi and Keeanu Benton do some damage and get after the passer, who we now know is the non-mobile Aidan O’Connell.

Win 3rd Downs

At one point this season the Steeles defense was a Top 3 unit in 3rd down defense, but not anymore. The Steelers defense has struggled in this regard the past two weeks, and it shouldn’t shock anyone they have lose those two games. The Raiders are converting 35.9% of their 3rd down opportunities, and the Steelers will have to win on 3rd downs if they are hoping to claim their 4th win of the season.

Bend, Don’t Break

There is a good chance the Steelers will have some struggles on defense, especially with key injuries still lingering across the roster. But if the Steelers can perform their best bend, don’t break defense they could be on their way to a win. The Raiders are scoring 19.2 points per game, and Aidan O’Connell is getting his first start of the 2024 season. If they can keep the Raiders out of the red-zone, where they are a Top 10 converting offense at 66.67%, and force field goal attempts they should be on their way to a victory.

I talk about this, and MUCH more on the “Let’s Ride”, and you can hear that podcast in the player below this article. In the meantime, be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the team as they gear up for game time!