The Pittsburgh Steelers can never win easy.

Up comfortably with a 16 point lead heading deep into the fourth quarter, the Steelers defense made their only few gaffes of the night.

They allowed the Raiders to march down the field to little resistance, and after a bad roughing the passer call against Minkah Fitzpatrick, Vegas punched in a touchdown and a two point conversion to bring the game to a manageable 23-15 deficit.

The Steelers offense, meanwhile, had stalled. After a breakout game by Kenny Pickett and the young gun offense, Pittsburgh was unable to get anything going in crunch time, going three-and-out to punt the ball back to Vegas.

Harvin boots his only bad punt of the night, and Vegas holds all the momentum as they drive down the field again. DeAndre Hunter gets a 16-yard return to midfield, setting up Jimmy Garoppolo to connect on a few passes, and all the sudden the Raiders are threatening to score again.

The Steeler defense finally regains some form, holding the Raiders at around their own 30 yard line with 3 minutes and change left.

On a 4th and 1 try, the Raiders are assessed a false start penalty, which prompts a change from the offense to the kicking team to try and tighten up the game.

However, on the kick, Pittsburgh’s DeMarvin Leal gets dinged with a leverage penalty, which grants Las Vegas 15 yards and a first down. Out trots the offense once again to try and turn a field goal into a touchdown.

Garoppolo hits Josh Jacobs for a 6 yard gain, but then suffers back to back incomplete passes as the Steelers apply some pressure to the new Raiders QB.

This is where the critical decision comes in: on 4th and 4 from 8-yard line, Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels opts to kick the field goal and take the points.

But did he make the right choice?

Now, in fairness to McDaniels, in the real-time situation of the game, you can at very least see why he decided to go kick it and hopefully get the ball back.

The Steelers offense is, well…the Steelers offense. And even if they were having their best game of the season Sunday night, it seemed as though the magic had faded out for the night. McDaniels’ defense had just forced the Steelers into back to back three-and-outs, and Steelers punter Pressley Harvin didn’t exactly shock the stadium with his most recent kick.

The Raiders also had all three timeouts at their disposal, and were on the right side of the two minute warning. If everything goes to plan, the Raiders get a stop, get the ball back with a little under two minutes, and still have a timeout to work with as they put together a last ditch effort.

At the time of the decision, it’s entirely possible that the Vegas offense, which has all the momentum, gets the ball pack.

So McDaniels takes the 3 points, and makes it a 23-18 game.

But what if all of this never happens? What if the Raiders go for it on that 4th and 4?

As much real-time evidence as their was to say kick, there was arguably even more to say go for it.

The Raiders, down by 8, needed a touchdown no matter what. Yes, collecting the 3 points and then scoring a touchdown secures victory rather than overtime, but Vegas still needs to get in the endzone to prevent a loss.

So, if you need a touchdown regardless, why not try it there? You have great field position, down to the Steelers 8 yard line.

You can still obtain a first down, earning you some extra plays with three minutes on the clock. And even if you don’t get it, you’ve pinned the struggling Steelers offense down inside their own ten.

You’re playing to force a three-and-out by Pickett anyways. Wouldn’t it help to force the Steelers punt that far deep as opposed to at least from the 25 yard line?

The Steelers defense was weakening; Pittsburgh had given up a fourth quarter touchdown after limiting the Raiders to just 7 points all game so far. The Raiders offense has a ton of momentum rolling down the field, and can take advantage of a defense that, despite great play for three quarters, is starting to look rather vulnerable.

And, maybe the queen of examples as to why McDaniels should have gone for it: the Raiders had already done this: their opening touchdown of the drive came as a result of a gutsy 4th and 1 call that saw the Raiders fake everyone out and aim. for the endzone.

Garoppolo and the offense had already proven in this game they were capable. of clutch plays liken that. Why not let them try it again?

In the end, the decision proved costly.

In the general sense, McDaniels was correct. He did get the ball back…but with only 12 seconds left.

The Steelers offense succeeded in forcing Vegas to burn all three timeouts, thanks to a big third down play that saw Pickett roll out and complete a pass to Allen Robinson.

It would be the only first down they got on that drive, but in the end, the only one they needed. Harvin recovers and delivers a beautiful boot that travels 56 yards and hangs forever in the air.

Instead of getting that ideal scenario for a game-winning drive, Garoppolo and the Raiders get 12 seconds with no timeouts, starting on their own 15.

Garoppolo would get picked by Levi Wallace for the second time in the game, and that’s all she wrote from fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada.

It’s a decision that definitely could have cost the Raiders the game, and one that is going to be looked at very heavily the rest of the week over in Vegas.

(Featured photo of Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels by L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal)