Raiders Renew Rivalry with Steelers

THIS WEEK: The Oakland Raiders, members of the American Football Conference Western Division, face the defending Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers, members of the AFC North.

TELEVISION: The game will be televised on CBS with Greg Gumbel providing play-by-play and former NFL player and Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Dierdorf handling color analysis. The game will air in the Bay Area on KPIX Channel 5 and in Sacramento on KOVR Channel 13.

RADIO: The game will air on Raiders Radio originating on KSFO 560 AM, the Silver and Black’s Flagship for the multi-state Radio Network. Greg Papa and former Raiders player, assistant and head coach Tom Flores will man the booth for the 12^th straight year. The radio pregame show and postgame show will feature Raider Legends George Atkinson and David Humm along with KSFO’s Rich Walcoff.

SPANISH RADIO: Raider games air in Spanish on radio station La Kaliente, KZSF 1370 AM. Armando Botello and Angel Dinamita handle announcing duties.

CONNECTIONS

RAIDERS: FB/RB Gary Russell played two seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers (2007-08)…T Mario Henderson and Steelers LB Lawrence Timmons were teammates at Florida State…RB Michael Bush and Steelers CB William Gay played together at Louisville…DE Jay Richardson was a teammate of Steelers WR Santonio Holmes at Ohio State…RB Justin Fargas and Steelers SS Troy Polamalu played together at USC…Rookie DE Matt Shaughnessy and Steelers rookie RG Kraig Ubrik were teammates at Wisconsin…DT William Joseph played with Steelers FS Ryan Clark when both were with the New York Giants…QB Bruce Gradkowski went to Seton-La Salle High School in Pittsburgh…Quarterbacks coach Paul Hackett coached at the University of Pittsburgh from 1989-92, serving three seasons as head coach.

STEELERS: QB Dennis Dixon attended San Leandro High in San Leandro…Rookie DE Ra’Shon Harris attended Pittsburg High School in Pittsburg.

SERIES: Sunday’s contest is the 18^th regular season meeting between the Raiders and Steelers. The Raiders lead the regular season series, 9-8 since the teams first met on October 25, 1970.

LAST TIME: Playing in front of a sold-out crowd at McAfee Coliseum in Oakland, the Raiders defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers, 20-13, on October 29, 2006. CB Nnamdi Asomugha's third interception of the season resulted in his first career touchdown, and CB Chris Carr had a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown. DE Derrick Burgess had 2.5 sacks and LB Kirk Morrison picked off a pass and logged nine tackles.

The Raiders struck first when Asomugha picked off a pass which was tipped by then-rookie LB Thomas Howard, returning it 24 yards to give the Raiders a 7-0 lead with 6:12 left in the first quarter. The Steelers got on the board on a 29-yard field goal to cut the Raiders lead to 7-3 in the second quarter. A second Pittsburgh field goal, a 39-yarder, trimmed the Raiders lead to 7-6 in the second quarter. K Sebastian Janikowski's 19-yard field goal gave the Raiders a 10-6 lead in the second quarter. Janikowski's 41-yard field goal capped a 6-play, 41-yard drive, and gave the Raiders a 13-6 lead in the third quarter.

Carr intercepted a pass at Oakland's goal line and raced 100 yards for the Raiders second defensive touchdown of the game. Janikowski's extra point gave the Raiders a 20-6 lead the fourth quarter. The Steelers scored a touchdown and extra point to cut the Raiders lead to 20-13, which turned out to be the final score.

POSTSEASON VERSUS PITTSBURGH

The Raiders and Steelers have met six times in the postseason and are tied with three wins apiece.
The teams met in the postseason for five straight seasons in the 1970s (1972–76).
The Raiders beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 24-7 in the 1976 AFC Championship Game on December 26 en route to the Silver and Black’s first of three World Championships of Professional Football, following with a 32-14 win over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI in Pasadena.
The Raiders defeated the Steelers in an AFC Playoff contest, 38-10 on January 1, 1984, on the way to the organization’s third World Championship of Professional Football, a 38-9 win over Washington in Super Bowl XVIII.

LAST WEEK: The Oakland Raiders lost to the Dallas Cowboys, 24-7 on Thanksgiving. Rookie WR Darrius Heyward-Bey caught his first touchdown pass of the year on a four-yardpass from QB Bruce Gradkowski.

NEXT WEEK: The Raiders return home to face the Washington Redskins on Sunday, December 13 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.