Steelers prep for threat that is Raiders WR Davante Adams

While most everyone else views Saturday as special because it’s Christmas Eve, Davante Adams will be celebrating it because he will be turning 30.

If Adams’ birthday gift is a win, it might be by way of leaving his hosts with a lump of proverbial coal.

Adams’ production could go a long way in deciding Saturday night’s game between his Las Vegas Raiders and the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium.

“We can’t let him get going,” Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick said Monday. “He’s a guy that once he gets two or three (catches), once he wins two or three one-on-ones, once he gets going, it’s really hard to stop him.”

“We’ve got to be competitive with him at the catch, got be physical with him at the line of scrimmage and even when he catches the ball.”

Adams is tied with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce for the NFL lead in receiving touchdowns with 12. He is fourth in the league in receiving yards (1,275) and seventh in catches (86, fifth among wide receivers).

Adams’ 14.8 yards per catch is 11th in the league. He ranks third in targets with 151, a nod to the obvious chemistry established with his former college quarterback, Derek Carr. Adams joined the Raiders over the offseason in exchange for first- and second-round draft picks after he spent his first eight pro seasons with the Green Bay Packers.

Anyone who thought his five Pro Bowl berths or two first-team All-Pro honors were attributable to future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers have been proven wrong.

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“Davante Adams is one of the best in the game from the receiver position,” Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith said.

What’s alarming is that any time this season the Steelers have faced somebody for whom that description is warranted, those among-the-best wideouts have feasted.

Adams will be the sixth wide receiver the Steelers face in 2022 who ranks among the top 12 at their position in touchdowns and receiving yards and catches per game. The previous five (Ja’Marr Chase, Amari Cooper, Stefon Diggs, Jaylen Waddle and A.J. Brown,) combined for 36 receptions for 576 yards and six touchdowns in those five games against the Steelers, an average of more than seven catches for more than 115 yards and more than a touchdown per outing.

Adams’ receiving skills grade out as the second best among NFL wide receivers by Pro Football Focus. It’s clear he has the trust of Carr: Only two receivers have been targeted while well-covered more than Adams, and only two have more “contested catches.” Only four wide receivers have converted more third downs.

Adams’ average depth of target — how far downfield, on average, he is when thrown to — is 12.5 yards. He has five catches of at least 45 yards and 12 of at least 30 yards.

For basis of comparison, all the Steelers wide receivers put together combined have just one catch of least 45 yards and nine of at least 30.

“We can’t let any big plays go over our heads,” Fitzpatrick said. “(The Raiders) rely on their running game, but Derek Carr is a good quarterback who gets the ball to their playmakers.”

Adams certainly qualifies as that. In two career meetings against the Steelers — including one early last season in Green Bay — Adams has 11 catches for 146 yards and a 55-yard touchdown.

“He’s a dynamic guy,” Steelers safety Terrell Edmunds said of Adams. “I wouldn’t say you can technically take away a guy as dynamic as he is, but you just try to limit his targets and limit his catches, and that’s the type of guy you’ve got to put two people on sometimes.”