There were reports before Week 16 that Antonio Pierce needed to beat the Kansas City Chiefs in order to keep the Las Vegas Raiders’ head coaching gig permanently.
Well, Pierce showed owner Mark Davis and the rest of the Raiders’ brass that he’s capable of overcoming all odds as his team dominated the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium this past weekend.
It was a shocking performance given that Kansas City were considered massive favorites at home, but Pierce and Las Vegas were able to hold their opponent’s offense in check.
Patrick Mahomes has struggled without quality receivers, and the Raiders defense made him pay for it with several sacks and turnovers.
Pierce has done an outstanding job of revitalizing a defense that was considered one of the worst units in the league previously.
When asked about what’s changed, Pierce attributed it to his players matching the energy set by Maxx Crosby via Logan Reever of 8 News Now.
“Now you’re seeing 11 bad boys huntin,” Pierce said.
“Now you’re seeing 11 bad boys huntin”
Antonio Pierce still feels like there’s a different ceiling this defense can reach.
Says they don’t want to use the word “great” yet. Fair to say a guy who’s been on a historic defense can speak to it best #Raiders pic.twitter.com/tjLqq2F9eb
— Logan Reever (@loganreever) December 29, 2023
Pierce stated one of his first goals when he took over as interim head coach was to match Crosby’s energy, but now he believes his defense is starting to follow suit.
There’s no denying that the Las Vegas defense seems to be moving much faster and with more aggression and it paid off against Kansas City who was unable to move the football.
For now, Pierce seems to have the inside track on the job though he could strengthen his case further by closing out the season with a pair of wins.
The post Antonio Pierce Sends A Clear Message About Raiders’ Defense appeared first on The Cold Wire.