Raiders Look Rejuvenated Under New Coach Antonio Pierce, Deliver 30-6 Win Over New York Giants Sunday

 

By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer

The former NFL linebacker known for his intensity and Compton roots gave Raiders team president Sandra Douglass Morgan a hug and posed for a photo with the team president and Raiders interim president Champ Kelly.

Then Antonio Pierce prepared the Silver & Black to battle the visiting New York Giants — one of the two teams that Pierce played for during a nine-year career.

Pierce acknowledged he had butterflies before his first head coaching game — just like his first game as an NFLer and when he played in the Super Bowl for the aforementioned Giants.

The Raiders, playing with rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell as their signal caller, looked rejuvenated under Pierce. O’Connell was a pinpoint nine of ten on his throws for 135 yards in the first half. For the game, O’Connell was 16 of 25 for 209 yards.

Pierce said this about O’Connell: “He took care of the ball.”

O’Connell, in turn, mentioned the intense Pierce has “strong convictions,” in terms of the new coach’s style.

Raiders runner Josh Jacobs ran with energy, power and quickness. In other words, he looked like the 2022 Jacobs Model. Jacobs ran 18 times for 85 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. Jacobs finished with 98 yards on 26 carries.

Pierce said there was a goal to play physically to get Jacobs going in the run game. The Raiders’ new coach said, “He got back to that running style” of 2022 when he led the NFL in rushing yards.

And we had a Hunter Renfrow sighting as the guy who wears number 13 caught two balls and took the Allegiant Stadium crowd of 62,000 plus into the time machine back to 2021.

The Raiders used that dominating first half to propel the team to the first win for Pierce, the hard-hitting former linebacker who took the head coach reins from the fired Josh McDaniels only four days ago. The Raiders’ 30-6 win gave the team a 4-5 record, with the defense registering a season high in sacks with eight.

Defensive lineman Bilal Nichols said the team was “loose, but laser-focused.”

Fellow D-lineman Adam Butler built on that theme, mentioning the team was intense but also played a clean game.

Jacobs set up a 17-yard jet sweep TD run by receiver Jakobi Meyers, while Renfrow’s catches set up a short one-yard TD run by Jacobs.

The Raiders led the Giants, 14-0, in the first half. The G-Men looked awful as their quarterback, Daniel Jones, left the game with an injured leg. Third-string quarterback Tommy DeVito looked over his head, throwing an interception that the Raiders’ Amik Robertson nabbed in the second quarter.

It set up a spectacular catch by Raiders receiver Tre Tucker, who dove and caught a long pass from O’Connell.

It set up a short two-yard TD run by Jacobs.

This dreadful Giants team then coughed up the ball again. DeVito threw a ball that pinballed off several players and the interception by Nate Hobbs allowed the Raiders’ superb placekicker, Daniel Carlson, to chip in an easy 24-yard field goal.

And the Pierce-led Raiders enjoyed a comfy 24-0 lead at the half after the team’s offense could not score 20 points in any game this season under McDaniels.

After halftime, Carlson booted another field goal, this one was from 46 yards, and the Raiders led, 27-0, after three quarters.

DeVito did toss a TD pass to Wan’Dale Robinson to cut the lead to 27-6 early in the fourth quarter. A two-point try was unsuccessful. With 14:11 to go, the Raiders led by 21 points.

A Carlson 40-yard field goal gave the Raiders a 30-6 lead with 9:29 to go in Q4.

The crowd roared with approval as the Raiders walked off the Allegiant Stadium retractable field with a 30-6 win.

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