With Raiders Playing Out NFL Schedule With 27-14 Win Against Denver Sunday, Next Football Game In Allegiant Stadium Is Super Bowl 58 Feb. 11

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       Story by Alan Snel   Photos by Hugh Byrne

The Las Vegas Raiders’ season ended Sunday like it started back in early September.

With a game against the Denver Broncos.

In between, the Raiders head coach departed in the middle of the schedule for the second time in three seasons.

But unlike in 2021, there is no postseason for the Raiders.

Instead, Raiders owner Mark Davis has a decision to make about the team’s permanent head coach job. Stick with the players’ coach, Antonio Pierce. Or hire another person.

Pierce said, in response to an LVSportsBiz.com question after the Raiders’ 24-14 win to win eight of 17 games, that he’s more than just a “rah-rah” coach. The intense former New York Giants linebacker said he knows Xs and Os, too:

It doesn’t seem to matter to the Raiders’ deep financial coffers that the team is a mediocre NFL club in the 2023 season.

The Raiders said their stadium, which generates income from Raiders home games and other events like concerts and in-stadium corporate gatherings, generated $2.29 billion from visitors attending the 62,500-seat domed venue that hosts Super Bowl 58 Feb. 11.

This is the fourth season in Las Vegas for the once-powerful franchise that won three Super Bowls that created a generation of older fans who still dress in their silver and black decorative garb.

The Raiders opened the scoring in the first quarter on a Jakobi Meyers five-yard run after he looked to pass the ball.

Denver countered when former Raiders quarterback Jarrett Stidham tossed a 24-yard TD pass to Jerry Jeudy, who broke out of the grasp of several Raiders defenders to tie the game at seven in the second quarter.

But the Raiders rebounded with a Daniel Carlson 49-yard field goal and then a stunning 98-yard drive that ended with quarterback Aidan O’Connell tossing a TD pass to Davante Adams before the end of the first half.

The playing field inside Allegiant Stadium also drew some bad attention for how worn the grass was in the end zones. Here’s a look:

The field outside the end zones looked solid.

The money maker is the stadium for Davis. He keeps the lion’s share of the revenues — just one factor behind why Forbes business magazine pegged the Raiders’ team value at an astonishing $6.2 billion. Under a 2016 state bill, Southern Nevada contributed $750 million to help build the domed stadium.

The Raiders’ front office was in shambles for a while with a revolving door of executives coming and going. But Davis hired attorney Sandra Douglass Morgan, who has both public government and private business experience, to quell the front office mess.

The Raiders held on to their 17-7 lead through the third quarter.

The team’s defense under Pierce has played impressively under the interim coach. Through three quarters, the Broncos gained only 178 total yards.

After three quarters: Las Vegas 17 Denver 7.

I don’t know if O’Connell will be the starting quarterback for the Raiders next season. But he went out today playing a terrific overall game, slinging the pigskin with confidence and poise.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, O’Connell rocketed a 33-yard touchdown toss to Meyers for a Raiders 24-7 lead.

Denver scored a TD to cut the lead to ten points later in the quarter.

But the Raiders held the lead for a 24-14 lead deep into the final stanza.

Carlson booted a 21-yarder to complete the scoring: Raiders 27 Broncos 14.

The Raiders won eight games this season and lost nine, but were 5-4 under Pierce including wins against all three division rivals — Chargers, Chiefs and Broncos. The Raiders were 6-11 under former coach Josh McDaniels last season.

The crowd chanted, “AP,” “AP,” “AP,” as Pierce walked off the field to the Raiders locker room.

Pierce said after the game that he wanted to connect with the fans in a stadium that was more Raiders partisan than most games.

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