THE 50-YARD LINE

     Rah, rah, ree, hit him in the knee. Rah, rah, rass, hit him in the other knee. Our Pittsburgh Steelers try to break out of their slump and keep their playoff hopes alive today when they battle the Oakland Raiders at Heinz Field. These are your keys for today's game. 1)Over the past decade, the Raiders have a winning record against just 1 team in the NFL, the Steelers. The Steelers are 1-4 in the AFC. You can't get in if you don't win. Gimme a W! 2)The Raiders have the 25th ranked passing defense in the league. The Steelers will need to lean on QB Ben Roethlisberger's arm a little more this week with RB Le'Veon Bell lost for the season. Following last week's 3-interception performance, the Steelers need to play mistake-free football. Air it out and let it fly. Score early, score often, score BIG! 3)Unfortunately, the Steelers passing defense is right behind Oakland at #26. Raiders QB Derek Carr is turning into one of the better young quarterbacks in the NFL. And WR Amari Cooper is a favorite target for Carr. How do you stop them? Hit him early, hit him often, hit him HARD! Let's Go Steelers!!!!!!