Raiders see link between Roethlisberger, Mahomes

Aside from their being the top two quarterbacks in the NFL in passing yards this season, there might seem to be little linking Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers’ steadfast, 15th-year veteran, and Patrick Mahomes, the 23-year-old in his first season starting for the Chiefs.

Raiders defensive coordinator Paul Guenther, though, sees at least one resemblance between Mahomes, whom the Raiders faced last weekend, and Roethlisberger, whom they’ll oppose in Oakland on Sunday — in their ability to extend plays.

“It’s similar,” Guenther said. “With Mahomes, we did a pretty good job of taking away his first read, (but) he made a lot of plays with his feet getting out of the pocket, a lot of really impressive throws. Ben is very much of that, being able to do those things. There are going to be five or six plays where he may slide out to the right or left and throw the ball downfield.”

Mahomes, who threw for 295 yards and four touchdowns in a 40-33 win over the Raiders, did much of his damage escaping pressure and buying time for his receivers to get open. Roethlisberger, at 36, may not possess the mobility or rare throwing velocity of Mahomes, but uses his own physicality and 6-foot-5 frame to create time to make throws. “With Mahomes, it was more getting outside of the

Steelers (7-4-1) at Raiders (2-10) Where: When: TV/Radio: Spotlight on:

Coliseum 1:25 p.m. /740. 95.7, 106.9

Raiders CB Gareon Conley. According to the analytics group Pro Football Focus, Conley has been one of the best cornerbacks in the league in coverage recently, allowing 15 total yards on two catches on five targets in his past three games. Conley figures to match up Sunday with receiver Antonio Brown (81 catches, 1,028 yards) or JuJu Smith-Schuster (83, 1,104) or both, if the Raiders don’t have their corners trail a specific receiver. Either way, it should be a stiff test for the Raiders’ 2017 first-round pick.

Raiders — DT Maurice Hurst (ankle), RB Doug Martin (knee), LG Kelechi Osemele (toe), LB Kyle Wilber (hamstring), CB Daryl Worley (shoulder) and WR Seth Roberts (concussion) are questionable. Steelers — RB James Conner (ankle) and T Marcus Gilbert (knee) are out; S Morgan Burnett (back) and LB Anthony Chickillo (ankle) are questionable.

Injury report:

THREE THINGS TO WATCH

鉔 The Steelers have converted an NFL-best 77.8 of their red-zone trips into touchdowns. The Raiders’ defense has allowed touchdowns on 57.4 percent of red-zone trips.

鉔 Both teams could call on reserves in their backfield Sunday. Steelers lead running back James Conner is out, meaning Stevan Ridley, who has 18 carries for 56 yards this season, should play a bigger role. Raiders lead back Doug Martin is dealing with a knee injury — if he can’t go, Oakland signed former Pro Bowl back and Vallejo product C.J. Anderson as insurance.

鉔 Ben Roethlisberger has won two Super Bowl rings — but he has never won at the Coliseum, where the Steelers quarterback is 0-3. The Raiders, in fact, are the only AFC team Roethlisberger hasn’t beaten on the road since debuting in the NFL in 2004. Sunday figures to be his last chance to win at the Coliseum before the Raiders move to Las Vegas. pocket, trying to escape on the outside, and then extend plays with his arm,” Raiders cornerback Daryl Worley said. “Ben is a bigger-body guy, so he can shake off some of those hits, some of those sacks, and he’ll step up in the pocket and deliver a throw. But extending the play is a big character trait for both of them.”

For Worley and the Raiders’ defensive backs, then, the task for a second consecutive week is to “plaster” their man in coverage, regardless of how long a play lasts.

After facing the Chiefs’ third-ranked passing offense, that won’t get much easier Sunday against the only other offense in the league with two 1,000-plus-yard receivers through 12 games.

One is JuJu Smith-Schuster, the second-year receiver who leads the Steelers with 83 catches for 1,104 yards. The other is Antonio Brown, considered by some the best receiver in the league.

Raiders head coach Jon Gruden during the week said he believes Brown, 30, who has averaged 116 catches and 1,570 yards for his past five full seasons, is “the hardest-working man, I think, in football — the hardest-working player I’ve ever seen practice.” Worley said Brown’s effort is not confined to the practice field.

“When the play is extended, he’s outworking most of his opponents,” Worley said. “Watching his film, you can tell ... where he makes those big plays is on the extra part of the route, when guys aren’t plastering so much, don’t have their eyes on him. That’s when he gets loose.”

Brown this season has 81 catches for 1,028 yards but is tied for the league lead in receptions of 40-plus yards (six) and has 12 touchdown catches, one off his career-high for a season.

“Really good route-runner, great hands,” safety Marcus Gilchrist said. “Him and Roethlisberger have been together for a long time. So that chemistry is off the charts.”

While Roethlisberger remains capable of prolonging plays, though, it doesn’t mean he will.

According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Roethlisberger’s average time to throw this season of 2.56 seconds is the quickest among all quarterbacks with at least 105 pass attempts. It is identical to Roethlisberger’s release time last season and likely one reason he has been sacked just 17 times despite leading the league with 517 pass attempts.

That could compound the challenge of pressuring Roethlisberger for a Raiders pass rush that ranks last in the league with 10 sacks.

“Their O-line does a great job of blocking guys,” defensive end Frostee Rucker said. “Pass-rush games don’t work very easy on them. They’ve done a great job passing things off.”

In his first 10 seasons, Roethlisberger absorbed 40plus sacks six times. Rucker, who faced him often with Cincinnati from 2006-11, said some of those were “probably self-inflicted,” with the quarterback taking a hit to extend a play and make a throw. Roethlisberger hasn’t taken more than 21 sacks in a season since 2014 — but Rucker said the Raiders should have their chances.

“Big Ben still extends plays,” Rucker said. “He’s going to stay true to who he is, and that’s to make a play. He always makes a play.”

Matt Kawahara is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mkawahara@ sfchronicle.com Twitter: @matthewkawahara