Steelers - Raiders Preview & Predictions

Story by Yinzer Crazy Featured Steelers Writer Adam Davidson. Follow him on Twitter @Adam_J_Davidson

“I’m thinking that I’m having a nightmare, and I want someone to wake me up so I can get over this terrible feeling.”

Those words by Joe Greene to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review echoed the sentiment of many in Steelers Nation during the early hours of Wednesday morning. At that time, as many in the Pittsburgh area were heading to work, news broke that Franco Harris had died.

In 72 years of life, Franco had established a legacy that transcends football. While known worldwide for one moment that sparked a Hall of Fame career, Franco dedicated most of his life off the field to his community, giving back to the fans who mobbed him upon the completion of his signature play, the Immaculate Reception.

Franco was a fixture in the Pittsburgh community and an ambassador for the Steelers brand. Multiple families of special needs children will remember Franco for his service to the Special Olympics while less fortunate families around Pittsburgh will remember his charitable contributions to those less fortunate through The Pittsburgh Promise. And of course, many current Steelers will hear Franco’s voice when they recall being drafted by Pittsburgh, as the legendary number 32 made that special announcement for both Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett and tight end Pat Freiermuth.

Both Steelers will face the pressure of honoring Franco Harris on Christmas Eve, two weeks since either have touched the football in a meaningful game. Pickett, sidelined due to a concussion, was relieved by Mitch Trubisky in Carolina, a game that Freiermuth finished with zero targets. Together, the two will suit up and bear down for brutal weather conditions on a night Pittsburgh will be re-living its first-ever playoff victory and remembering the man whose hustle made it all possible.

Of course, while representing a new city miles from their roots in Oakland, the Las Vegas Raiders will look on with a never-ending disdain as highlights from 1972 bombard fans over loudspeakers and LED screens. There’s something unique about the Steelers-Raiders rivalry, something like bad blood that permeates through the years even as both teams fail to live up to their former glory.

Over the decade-and-a-half he’s been Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin has amassed a head-scratching record of 2-4 versus the Raiders franchise. It’s a record over a six-game series that is lowlighted by one long Terrelle Pryor run, multiple fourth quarter leads surrendered, and dashed hopes for a Steelers playoff berth. On Christmas Eve, the Steelers will be hoping recent history doesn’t repeat itself, as they must win their remaining three games to sustain a push for the postseason.

For the Raiders, it’s about rekindling and bottling up a little bit of the magic that transpired just last week against the Patriots in Las Vegas. Upon many misguided lateral attempts by New England in a tied football game at the end of regulation, Raiders defensive end Chandler Jones wound up with the football and scored the decisive touchdown to improve the Raiders’ record to 6-8. It’s a remarkable play that stands as one of the best in modern regular season history.

For the Steelers, it’s about more than playing smart and containing the game-wrecking combination of Jones and Maxx Crosby on the outside. In a game that will be dictated by conditions on the field, the Steelers must go round-for-round in the running game with Najee Harris versus the NFL’s leading rusher in Josh Jacobs. Sometimes, stats alone can’t prove that you’re having a great year. But the 1,495 rushing yards posted this season by Jacobs - nearly 200 yards more than Derrick Henry’s total - was more than enough to earn the Raiders’ running back his second Pro Bowl nod.

With conditions no doubt favoring a run-first approach and an overall low-scoring affair, the Steelers must gear up and prepare for the challenge given the struggles they’ve endured in recent games. However, upon snuffing out the Panther’s run game a week after being systematically dismantled on the ground versus the Ravens, the Steelers defense is riding high and executing well by adhering to sound fundamentals. Even with Myles Jack and Terrell Edmunds questionable this Saturday, the defense has been known to rally in the absence of their core players, often calling upon Tre Norwood or Robert Spillane to fill the void.

The key is to play with discipline, and in a game that will no doubt be overwrought with genuine emotion, the Steelers must avoid costly penalties a week after Marcus Allen and Diontae Johnson drew flags for unsportsmanlike conduct. This despite a memorable performance in Johnson’s case, who caught 10 balls for 98 yards in Carolina. Now, Johnson is questionable with a toe injury.

In the event of his absence, Pat Freiermuth must be counted on to make the easy plays off short passes over the middle. And George Pickens will be called upon for the big play if Las Vegas cheats up toward the line of scrimmage. After proving he can harness his own emotions and play well after some brief drama on the sidelines in Atlanta three weeks ago, Pickens should be rewarded by being a focal point of the Steelers’ gameplan.

On Saturday, Pickens will be playing across the field from Davante Adams and Darren Waller, two men Pickens often emulates in high-pointing the football and making tough, contested catches. The Steelers defensive backfield, though banged-up all year, must play physically, especially with Adams, and swarm the former Packer whenever he touches the football.

The same goes for Waller, and Jacobs, and of course quarterback Derek Carr. Really, any Raider who possesses the football. After all, if history has taught us anything, it’s that you never know when the ball will bounce your way.

This Saturday will mark 50 years since the Immaculate Reception. And while the names and faces for both teams have changed, the legend, and mystique, lives on. Did Franco catch the ball? Was it trapped? Did it hit Frenchy Fuqua or Jack Tatum first? The debate will live on forever.

Franco Harris, potentially the one man on the field that day who could answer such questions, was tasked with keeping the play Immaculate for half a century. In other words, Franco kept the play shrouded in mystery, sustaining the aura around it and leaving us fans in a state of wonder. Moments like that are a blur anyway when recalled by our human memory, as Franco could attest to.

"I remember nothing (of the play),” Franco told CBS News just last week.

"I watch it on film, right, and I try to put the pieces together. But when I left the backfield until stiff-arming Jimmy Warren going into the end zone, my mind is a complete blank."

Living in the moment and relying on your instincts as Franco had is just how most players are taught to play the game. No matter which Steeler comes away with the decisive play of the game, the odds that they’ll remember every exact detail are slim. Whether it’s Freiermuth, Pickens, Watt or Fitzpatrick - or perhaps this Steelers generation’s Harris - it will be a blur by the time they reach the locker room. Thankfully, they’ll have game tape and the permanence of highlight reels to look back on. While no play in NFL history will be quite as Immaculate, there’ll be plenty of great moments this Saturday that will define a new generation going forward.

Prediction: Steelers 14, Raiders 7