Raiders Rally to Embarrass Steelers

Pittsburgh's Super Bowl defense just went from bad to disastrous.

In Oakland's first 11 games, the Raiders had never scored more than 20 points.

On Sunday against the Steelers, they scored 21 points in the fourth quarter, en route to a come-from-behind 27-24 win.

The Raiders have arguably one of the worst wide receiver corps anyone can remember -- no Oakland receiver came into the game with more than 20 catches. But on Sunday, they were the key to two fourth-quarter drives.

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Bruce Gradkowski is, statistically, one of the worst starting quarterbacks in the league -- he had not thrown for more than 200 yards in any of his 14 career starts coming into Sunday. Against the Steelers, Gradkowski threw for 308.

But maybe most importantly, the Steelers defense came into the season considered the gold standard in NFL defenses -- and were fresh off of one of the best seasons in NFL history. Against Oakland, they showed, once and for all, that the 2009 Steelers defense is a disaster.

The 2009 Steelers' season has turned into a disaster as well. Not making the playoffs is bad enough -- and at this point it seems highly unlikely that the 6-6 Steelers will make it -- but to lose to the Chiefs and Raiders in a three-week span is the mark of a bad team and bad coaching.

When Pittsburgh lost to the Raiders in 2006, it was clear indication that the Steelers would not be repeating as Super Bowl champs. But that was a fluke of a loss -- two interception returns for touchdowns meant Oakland won a game that the Steelers dominated. This year's loss to the Raiders serves the same purpose, except this time Pittsburgh lost because it was outplayed.

Give Oakland credit. The Raiders played their most complete game of the season and showed they have made a successful switch from JaMarcus Russell to Gradkowski at quarterback.

After losing to Baltimore last week, Mike Tomlin promised the Steelers would unleash the "gates of hell" against the Raiders. Instead, the once-promising Steelers' season has gone to hell.