Antonio Pierce hopes recent history repeats itself when the Raiders play the season's second half

Published Nov. 4, 2024 6:06 p.m. ET

Associated Press

HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Raiders coach Antonio Pierce used a profanity Monday morning to describe the season's first half, but with a week off to contemplate all that went wrong, his attention turns to finding hope over his team's final eight games.

Part of that process began Sunday night when he fired offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello and offensive line coach James Cregg. Pierce said he would take a day or two to see who would handle those responsibilities moving forward.

Las Vegas was in a similar situation at this time last year when owner Mark Davis fired coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler after a 3-5 start and a 26-14 loss at Detroit in a Monday night game. Pierce became the interim coach, and Las Vegas went 5-4 the rest of the way, instilling energy into the organization and earning him the full-time job.

Now the Raiders are 2-7, on a five-game losing streak and coming off Sunday's 41-24 loss at Cincinnati.

“It’s kind of ironic that I took over around this time last year and we played better football at the end of the season,” Pierce said. “I’ve got to find a way to get that back into these guys, starting with our staff and our players, and make sure that we get back in this building next week, we’re energized, we’re focused, and we’re going to do whatever it takes to get a win in Miami.”

The question is how much can really be done to improve this team.

There is no franchise quarterback, and Pierce said he was considering moving on from Gardner Minshew and going with Desmond Ridder. Neither is truly the answer, and nor is Aidan O'Connell when he returns in roughly a month from a broken thumb.

The running game is the worst in the NFL, averaging 76.9 yards per game, there is no legitimate No. 1 receiver, and the offensive line has been ravaged by injuries.

And the defense, which the Raiders expected to at least keep them competitive, has allowed 27.9 points per game. That's ahead of only Jacksonville, Dallas and Carolina — those teams are a combined 7-19.

Which leads to another question: Should the organization even try to make something of the season's second half?

The more losses mean a higher draft pick for a team badly in need of one, which could mean finally landing a franchise quarterback. The front office could make moves that focus more on the long-term future than the immediate one.

That wouldn't do much for Pierce's job security, of course, so he hopes the actions he took after the loss to the Bengals begins to create a pathway to success. And with a week off before playing the Dolphins, Pierce has extra time to consider how he wants to make that happen.

“The timing does work out for the decisions that I made going forward,” Pierce said. “But it wasn’t like I was going into each and every week thinking about making decisions. Had confidence in Luke that we would get it turned around and once I felt like we needed to make a change, I did.”

What’s working

Jakobi Meyers may not be the preferred choice for a No. 1 wide receiver, but with Davante Adams now with the Jets, Meyers is showing he can be relied on to make plays. He caught eight passes for 105 yards at Cincinnati, giving him 14 receptions for 157 yards and a touchdown over his two games since Adams left.

What needs help

Where to begin? Pierce needs to spend this bye week taking a hard look at the entire roster.

Stock up

Las Vegas' special teams play remains among the league's best. Daniel Carlson has made 16 of 18 field goals, including 4 of 5 from 50-plus yards. AJ Cole grosses a league-leading 53.4 yards per punt, with a net of 44.3 yards ranking fifth.

Stock down

Whether it's the running backs not delivering or the offensive line not creating enough holes, the Raiders' running game puts too much pressure on whoever plays quarterback to carry the offense. And as this weekend showed, the Raiders don't have a Joe Burrow on their roster to make up the difference.

Injuries

The offensive line has been hit hard. G Cody Whitehair, T Kolton Miller and T Andrus Peat went down with ankle injuries at Cincinnati. Ankle injuries also claimed CB Nate Hobbs and TE Harrison Bryant. C Andre James did not play, also because of an ankle injury.

Key number

9 — The Raiders are one of 10 teams in NFL history to trail by double digits in each of their first nine games of a season. The 1986 Colts and Packers were the most recent.