The Las Vegas Raiders will be up against it when they take on the Pittsburgh Steelers tomorrow.
The Raiders are already down star wide receiver Davante Adams, who is out again dealing with a hamstring injury. They also placed defensive tackle Christian Wilkins on IR this week with a foot injury.
These two were expected to be major contributors to the Raiders’ success this season. Now, the Raiders will not have either for a long period of time. That, of course, is if the Raiders trade Adams, per his request.
The Raiders will be without those two and tight end Michael Mayer, who was placed on the reserve/non-football illness list. Coach Antonio Pierce hoped to have him and Brock Bowers together terrorizing defenses this season, but it has not materialized that way.
But that’s not all.
Las Vegas may also be without players like wide receiver Jakobi Meyers and running back Zamir White, two of its biggest offensive pieces. It may also not have offensive linemen Jackson Powers-Johnson and Thayer Munford Jr. All four players have been listed as questionable.
This makes for an uphill battle against a Steelers team that is also dealing with injuries but will still have most of their top stars available.
The Steelers are a three-point favorite over the Raiders, a line that may be generous for the Silver and Black. For an already struggling team to not have or potentially not have many of its best players, this game could prove challenging.
This match-up is especially challenging because of who the Raiders are playing. The Steelers, led by Mike Tomlin, have been among the winningest franchises in NFL history. Even without superstar play, Tomlin has gotten the most out of his players and led many teams to the postseason.
So, how can Pierce get his team to dig deep and pull off a short-handed victory like they did against the Cleveland Browns?
It starts with Pierce inspiring belief in his players. They made a quarterback change this week, hoping Aidan O’Connell can rediscover the fire he brought the team when he took over as the starter last season.
Pierce’s strong culture helped the Raiders pull off a similar victory two weeks ago, and they will hope they can do that again against one of the toughest opponents in the league.
