Photo credit: @E_Geerlings

By Jeremy Kahn

OAKLAND — It seems whenever the Oakland Raiders and the Pittsburgh Steelers face off against each other, it is going to be a pier six brawl between the two longtime rivals.

Derek Carr threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Derek Carrier with 21 seconds remaining in the game, as the Raiders hung on to defeat the Steelers 24-21 before a crowd of 53,960 at the Coliseum.

After the Carr touchdown pass to Carrier, Ryan Switzer returned the kickoff to the Steelers 30-yard line and then Ben Roethlisberger went into action for the second time in as many series.

Roethlisberger found James Washington for a five-yard catch, and then the wide receiver out of Oklahoma State played hook-and-ladder with Juju Smith-Schuster, who took the ball at the 35 and rumbled down to the Raiders 22-yard line, where he was tackled by Raiders Safety Karl Joseph.

Chris Boswell then came on for a potential game-tying 40-yard field goal; however, Boswell slipped on the Coliseum grass and his kick went awry, giving the Raiders an improbable victory.

Carr was magical on that final drive, as he found Seth Roberts for a diving catch for 39 yards down to the Steelers seven-yard line.

Jalen Richard then gained a yard on first down, but then Carr was unable to complete a pass on the next two downs, setting up a fourth-and-goal and then Carr found Carrier with what proved to be the game-winning touchdown.

Roethlisberger, who was forced to leave the game at the end of the first half due to a rib injury came back on the field, like he was Willis Reed in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals for the New York Knicks against the Los Angeles Lakers and led them on a six-play 75-yard drive to give the Steelers a 21-17 lead with 2:59 remaining, as he found Smith-Schuster for his second touchdown of the day.

On the Raiders previous series prior to the Roethlisberger touchdown pass, Carr found Lee Smith in the end zone to give the Raiders 17-14 lead.

It was a good day for Carr, as he went 25-for-34 for 322 yards passing and two touchdowns, while Jared Cook led all receivers with seven catches for 116 yards.

Doug Martin led the Raiders ground game, as he carried the ball 16 times for 32 yards and opened the scoring with a one-yard over-the-top touchdown on the Raiders first series of the afternoon.

Stevan Ridley got the Steelers even in the second quarter, as he scored on a two-yard run much to the delight of the allegiances of Black and Gold Steelers fans that invaded the Coliseum.

Daniel Carlson gave the Raiders for the second time in the game, as he kicked a 44-yard field goal. After the Carlson field goal gave the Raiders the lead, Boswell missed a 39-yard field goal that would have tied up the game.

The Raiders were unable to take advantage of the missed field goal, and Johnny Townsend was forced to punt the ball back to the Raiders, which helped the Steelers out in the long run.

Roethlisberger drove the Steelers down the field, and the drive when Roethlisberger found Smith-Schuster for a one-yard touchdown pass with 10 seconds remaining in the half.

Jon Gruden challenged a call in the third quarter that looked like Smith-Schuster was out of bounds; however, he caught the ball inbounds and the Raiders lost a timeout. Luckily for the Raiders, the drive ended when Josh Dobbs, who replaced Roethlisberger at quarterback, his pass to former San Francisco 49ers tight end Vance McDonald was stopped for no gain and the Raiders took over on downs.

Unfortunately, on the Raiders next drive, Carr was hit Mike Hilton, where he fumbled the ball and it was recovered by Hilton.

On the ensuing Steelers series, it looked like that Dobbs fumbled the ball; however, the officials called it incomplete, but Gruden challenged the ruling, but the call stood.

Dobbs gave the ball back to the Raiders on the next play, as his pass intended for Antonio Brown was intercepted by Tahir Whitehead.

The two teams traded touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but in the end, the gods were on the Raiders side, as Boswell missed his second field goal of the afternoon that sent the Raiders players and the fans into a frenzy.

NOTES: It was a rough day for the Raiders with penalties, as they were called for 13 penalties for 130 yards.

UP NEXT: After a two-game home stand that ended 1-1, the Raiders head to Cincinnati, where they will face the Bengals next Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium. Kickoff set for 10:00 am PST on CBS.