The Las Vegas Raiders suffered an embarrassing loss in Week 14. They hosted the Minnesota Vikings and took part in the lowest-scoring game in years, losing 3-0. A lot of people were put on notice following that game.
Many wondered whether interim head coach Antonio Pierce would replace rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell as the starter. O’Connell has been starting since Week 9 when Josh McDaniels was fired and Pierce opted to bench veteran Jimmy Garoppolo but struggled mightily against the Vikings.
Pierce himself also came under fire. While the team has responded positively to him being the interim head coach, their struggles offensively ultimately fall on his shoulders. Coaching the entire team is a totally different animal than just being a positional coach and Pierce was learning that on the fly.
NFL News & Rumors: Antonio Pierce, Aidan O’Connell, Mark Davis, Las Vegas Raiders Updates
With their backs up against the wall heading into Week 15, both O’Connell and Pierce quieted a lot of doubters. The Raiders destroyed the Los Angeles Chargers 63-21, resulting in them firing head coach Brandon Staley and general manager Tom Telesco Friday after the Thursday Night Football shellacking.
It was a truly dominating performance as the Raiders led 42-0 at halftime and scored 49 points unanswered to start the game. Las Vegas forced five turnovers, which Pierce was certainly excited about as a defensive guy, and had three sacks.
Offensively, the Raiders came to life after a miserable performance against Minnesota only four days prior. O’Connell had the best game of his young career, completing 20-of-34 passes for 248 yards and four touchdowns.
Davante Adams was his leading receiver, catching eight passes for 101 yards and a touchdown. Jakobi Meyers was excellent as well, catching two passes for 32 yards and a touchdown while completing both of his pass attempts for 12 yards and another score.
That kind of performance is one that ownership will certainly take notice of. While the playoffs are likely out of reach, it was encouraging to see the Raiders come ready to play after such a poor performance with really nothing to play for.
NFL News & Rumors: Antonio Pierce, Aidan O’Connell, Mark Davis, Las Vegas Raiders Updates
That is a sign of a team that wants to play for its head coach. Pierce has garnered the respect of the locker room and they play hard for him, something that wasn’t always the case under McDaniels.
This isn’t the first time that owner Mark Davis had a coaching change midseason. Last time it was in 2021, when Jon Gruden resigned and was replaced by special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia.
Las Vegas made the playoffs that year as the players rallied around Bisaccia. However, he was not given a full-time job as McDaniels was hired instead. Davis needs to take that into consideration when the process begins for a full-time coach this time around as Pierce has certainly done enough to warrant strong consideration.
There are a lot of question marks about the franchise heading into 2024. But, one thing that could already be filled is the head coaching spot. At the very least, Pierce should be part of the process, if not the favorite to land the job.
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