On Sunday, the Steelers defeated the Raiders by a score of 32-13 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Those are the facts. They are indisputable. You can’t argue with them. That’s exactly what happened.

But sports are more nuanced than just the final score. What about the things that happened between the lines and the whistles?

Who are these 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers? Yes, I know they’re 4-2 and tied for first place in the AFC North Division. But I’m not asking what or where the Steelers are; I’m asking who they are after six games. I’m not sure if Sunday’s victory in Vegas–as dominant as the score says it was–gave me any tangible evidence of what I should expect over the next 17 games.

Honestly, the Steelers did not dominate that football game from beginning to end. It wasn’t an example of one team imposing its will on the other. Pittsburgh trailed by one point late in the first half and may have remained on the wrong end of the score if an interception by quarterback Justin Fields wasn’t wiped out by a roughing the passer penalty on defensive tackle Matthew Butler. Yes, Butler’s full body weight landed on Fields when he tried to take him to the turf–you know, like an attempted tackle?–and that is technically roughing the passer in today’s NFL. But should it have been called? I mean, was it really roughing the passer? It sure didn’t look like it to me. Anywho, the penalty bailed the Steelers out, and they parlayed this fortune into a 12-7 lead after Fields took it into the end zone himself on fourth and one from the three. With that in mind, why is every yard the Steelers gain so hard to come by? I mean, Pittsburgh had a first and 10 at the 12 following the penalty on Butler, and Vegas’ defense made the offense work for every last inch of turf on the way to a touchdown and a 12-7 halftime lead.

Moving on to the second half and the blocked punt by backup (and now starting) outside linebacker and special teams ace, Jeremiah Moon, that set Pittsburgh’s offense up at the Raiders nine-yard line. A touchdown there would have put the Steelers firmly in the driver’s seat. Unfortunately, like a toddler that is screwing around in the backseat, Pittsburgh’s offense kicked it in reverse and barely avoided disaster when a backward pass from Fields to Jaylen Warren on second and goal from the six went astray and was ultimately recovered by the reserve running back at the 15. Seriously, a backward lateral there? Such a play-call a year ago would have drawn “Fire Canada!” chants from the partisan Steelers crowd on hand at Allegiant Stadium. How about one play later when Fields did a lot of great things with his legs but did not know when to stop them before unleashing a pass that tight end Pat Freiermuth caught in the back of the end zone? Yes, the game-day officials initially called it a touchdown, but I don’t know why since it was very obvious that Fields was at least one full yard over the line of scrimmage when he threw the pass. That was the second time in three weeks that Fields showed horrible awareness while throwing a pass near the line of scrimmage. He got away with it at Indianapolis, but not this time. The touchdown was rightfully overturned and the Steelers had to settle for a Chris Boswell field goal and a 15-7 advantage.

Pittsburgh did take control of the game late in the third period when running back Najee Harris simply would not be denied on a 36-yard touchdown run that was part Marshawn Lynch–the breaking of tackles–and part Troy Polamalu–he dove from the five-yard line with the football extended and didn’t land until the pigskin hit the goal line. Yet, much like the first touchdown, this one was set up earlier in the drive when defensive end K’Lavon Chaisson was called for a questionable roughing the passer penalty on third and 18 from the Steelers 38.

In typical Steelers fashion, they looked determined to let Vegas get right back in the contest when the home team immediately drove down to the Pittsburgh six in the final minute of the third quarter. The Raiders appeared to make it a one-score game when quarterback Aiden O’Connell found running back Alexander Mattison for an easy pitch-and-catch touchdown. However, a somewhat questionable illegal man downfield penalty was called on rookie lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson, wiping out the score and pushing the Raiders back to the 11. Two plays later, on third and goal from the one, T.J. Watt got his second knockout of the game when he punched the football free of running back Ameer Abdullah’s grasp, and safety DeShon Elliott recovered it.

The Steelers finally did put the game away two drives later when Fields scored a rushing touchdown one play after cornerback Donte Jackson intercepted an O’Connell pass and returned it to the Vegas seven.

If you’re scoring at home, two of the Steelers’ touchdown drives were kept alive by questionable penalties while the third was set up by an interception that was returned to the other team’s seven.

For the day, Fields completed 14 of 24 passes for 145 yards. Not a great game with his arm, but he made up for it with his legs by toting the rock 14 times for 59 yards and two touchdowns. Speaking of rushing yards, the Steelers tallied 183 as a team–including 106 and a score on 14 carries by Harris.

All-in-all, the Steelers offense posted 293 yards. It was four of 13 on third down conversions. Honestly, things were so pedestrian over the first 30 minutes, I was half-expecting Fields to be benched in favor of Russell Wilson before that touchdown just before halftime.

Yeah, but the defense was dominant, right? Yes, just 275 yards and three takeaways–including two that were created by Watt’s right cross.

How would things have played out if Gardner Minshew started at quarterback? What if Jakobi Meyers and Davante Adams were the receiving duo and not those other dudes Vegas had to trot out there?

A win is a win, but that may be all the Steelers can say about what they did in Vegas on Sunday.

Again, who are the 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers, really? Are they good? Is their offense improving? Is their defense truly dominant or only dominant when going up against a bunch of backups and down-the-liners?

We don’t seem to be any closer to knowing the answers to any of those questions, and the tests are only going to get tougher as the season goes along.