Raiders hold off Pittsburgh 24-17 to clinch AFC's last spot

With New England and San Diego both winning earlier this week, this game was a must-win for both Pittsburgh and Oakland, with the last AFC wild-card spot on the line.

Pittsburgh won the toss and elected to receive, but went 3-and-out on their first possession. A booming 59-yard punt by Chris Gardocki pinned Oakland back to their own 5-yard line, though, and the Steeler D forced a 3-and-out of their own. Starting on the OAK 43 thanks to a nice 12-yard punt return by Antawn Randle-El, Pittsburgh drew first blood when Ben Roethlisberger hit Plaxico Burress on a 17-yard crossing pattern. The two teams exchanged short possessions, and after 1 quarter the Steelers led 7-0.

On the first play of the 2nd quarter, Rich Gannon hit Charlie Garner for a 61-yard screen play that took the Raiders inside Steeler territory for the first time. A few plays later Gannon found a wide-open Tim Brown for a short 3-yard toss to even the game at 7-7. Pittsburgh went 3-and-out on each of their next two possessions, sandwiched by a short Oakland drive. Late in the 2nd, Gannon led the Raiders on another long drive, culminating in a 16-yard TD to Jerry Porter, and Oakland took a 14-7 lead into the locker room.

The Raiders took the ball to open the 2nd half, and after a near 6-minute drive stalled, extended their lead to 17-7 on a 37-yard FG by Sebastian Janikowski. Oakland's defense continued their strong play, stopping Pittsburgh on the next drive, but PR Philip Buchanon muffed the punt and the Steelers gained possession at the OAK 15. Their offense could not get the first down, however, and Jeff Reed came on for a 24-yard FG to trim Oakland's lead to 7. The Raiders were quick to respond, though, extending their lead to 24-10 when Gannon and Tim Brown connected on an 8-yard TD pass late in the 3rd.

The Steelers' first possession of the 4th quarter was their longest drive of the day- 67 yards, capped by a Jerome Bettis 7-yard TD run. Pittsburgh was within a TD now, and their D rose to the occasion, stopping the Raiders deep in Oakland territory. Starting on their own 38 Pittsburgh marched across midfield, but the Raiders stopped Jerome Bettis on a 4th-and-1 to take over on downs. Oakland drove to the PIT 17 and with just under 5 minutes remaining, called on Janikowski to hit a 34-yard FG (88%) that would make it a 2-possession game The kick sailed wide, though, and Pittsburgh took over with thought of OT looming if they could traverse the 76 yards they needed. With Roethlisberger at the helm, Pittsburgh methodically marched down the field, converting on two big plays- a 13-yard scramble from Big Ben on 3rd-and-9 and later, a 15-yard completion to Verron Hayes on 4th-and-6. Facing 3rd-and-5 from the 15 with under a minute remaining, Pittsburgh called a draw play to Bettis, but netted just 2 yards to set up 4th-and-3. The Steelers were hit with a costly 5-yard penalty for 12 men on the field, forcing a 4th-and-8. With the run game no longer a threat, Oakland could focus on the pass, and stopped Jay Riemersma 5 yards short of the first down to preserve the win.

Thanks for the great game, Greg. It was a tough one. --submitted by Dan Donovan--