The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders will face off this week as Week 9 of the NFL 2015 regular season kicks off. Both teams are looking to remain relevant in the race for the postseason, but it will be games like this that they will be hoping to clinch if they are to make the Playoffs. The game has a scheduled start time of 1 p.m. ET and takes place from Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The game can be watched on TV on the CBS network or online through live stream via the link below.
The Steelers come into this game evenly poised on .500 with a 4-4 record. They will be desperate to get back into a winning record with a victory today, but they face a talented Raiders team that has come a long way from last season.
Oakland started last season 0-10 but have turned things around massively with a 4-3 start this year, built on the emergence of a number of talented new players.
Two stand out young players for them this season have been quarterback Derek Carr, as well as rookie receiver Amari Cooper.
Carr has 15 touchdowns against only three picks, and last week threw 333 yards with four scores as they defeated the New York Jets 34-20 in Week 8.
The Steelers must tighten things up today, as they are ranking just 26th in the league on the pass, allowing an average of 269.5 yards per game in the air. The one shinning light for them is that Oakland are ranked 31st in that department, allowing a massive 302.1 yards in the air per game.
So we can expect an open game where both teams look to take advantage of the others' aerial vulnerabilities. Which will come out on top remains to be seen.
Earlier this week on Thursday Night Football, the Cincinnati Bengals moved to 8-0 with ease as they demolished a hapless Cleveland Browns team 31-10.
The Browns had been able to keep in touch with the mighty Bengals until the half way stage of the game, and being just 14-10 down after the second period had given their fans hope of an upset.
But the second half saw the Bengals wake up and in particular the final quarter they piled on the pain for the Browns to hand them their seventh defeat of the season so far.
The Thursday Night Football game saw quarterback Andy Dalton throw three touchdown passes to Tyler Eifert as the Browns had no answer to their connection.
Moving to 8-0 sets a new franchise record for the Bengals; it is the first time they have ever been on 8-0 in their history, and is also their longest ever winning streak within a single season.
As well as Dalton and the Bengals offense piling on the pain for the Browns, the Cincinnati defense also played their part by completely shutting down Cleveland in the second half, allowing them just 32 yards and two first downs in total.
Dalton finished on 21 of 27 for 234 yards, and Eifert's three touchdowns move him to nine in total for the season so far, which also ties him for the franchise record for a tight end.
Today's big game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders has a scheduled start time of 1 p.m. ET and can be watched on TV on the CBS network or online through live stream by clicking here.
