Steelers-Raiders: Is Mike Tomlin's defense seeing less heat than it deserves? Is DL an issue?

North Shore Drive podcast - Pittsburgh Steelers, Pirates, Penguins and more

Sitting in for colleague Paul Zeise, Post-Gazette sports columnist Jason Mackey and joins host Adam Bittner to analyze the Steelers defense ahead of an NFL Week 6 matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders. Has coach Mike Tomlin's unit gotten off easy in terms of public criticism following two losses in which it was at least as bad as the offense? Has the defensive line beyond Cam Heyward been an underrated weakness as Keeanu Benton, Larry Ogunjobi, Isaiahh Loudermilk and Dean Lowry have all turned in unremarkable efforts up front? Are Minakh Fitzaptrick and DeShon Elliott being asked to do too much to compensate for other issues, contributing to communication problems? And what impact will the loss of Nick Herbig and Alex Highsmith have beyond the pass rush?

Our duo tackles those topics, then talks about the QB situation with Justin Fields and Russell Wilson, plus the troubled receivers room with a frustrated George Pickens and little else in terms of meaningful contributions. Then later, Adam and Jason preview big games for Pitt and Penn State against Cal and USC, respectively; react to the Penguins' season-opening blowout loss to the New York Rangers; and give the thoughts on how far away high-leverage playoff baseball seems for the Pirates.