Antonio Pierce has come in since Halloween and has revitalized a Las Vegas Raiders team that seemed destined to just flail through the rest of the season. What has resulted is two wins over both New York-named teams and a toe-to-toe battle with the Dolphins. Will the Raiders make the playoffs? That’s left to be seen, but this Sunday battling against the hated Chiefs will go a long way in determining not only the playoffs but Pierce’s future.
The last time the Raiders defeated Kansas City was in the COVID-riddled season in 2020. The last time as a home team was in 2017 and have never beaten them in Vegas. Through this time only a handful of the games have been competitive.
The Chiefs look vulnerable at this point the offense is struggling, and the strength is the defense. The Raiders also have a surging defense and a struggling offense. It’s a game where before Pierce would be looked at as the get-right game, but with the change in attitude and culture that appears to be no more.
What can Pierce do to get the elusive Chiefs win? Coach AP listens to the players and the players are all in and believe in the system, but all that can be null and void unless the results show up, and what better way than to upset the perennial Super Bowl contenders.
The offense still goes through Josh Jacobs as he has revitalized. Jacobs is key and Pierce has honed in on that. If Jacobs can get going it provides Aiden O’ Connell to find openings and the rookie has shown flashes that could provide some electric moments. The Raiders have looked better, but the scoring has been still not what you would like. Through the last three games, the difference in scoring is 19.6, and only giving up 12.6. It’s a stark difference then the first eight games where they gave up an average of 23.3 and only averaged 15.7.
The story has been great, and the difference is evident, but for the Raiders to keep Pierce the Raiders must pull off the massive win. Pierce knows it, Raider Nation knows it and the Chiefs know it and they would love nothing more than to change the tenor on their season and keep the Raiders broken.
The Raiders want to make the playoffs and they need a big win for Antonio Pierce Sunday is key. In the words of John Cena, “The Time is Now”.
