A new coach, a new chapter, and a new Silver and Black attitude—oh, and a new single-game record, to boot. That’s what happened in Antonio Pierce’s first game as the Las Vegas Raiders interim head coach.
While there were plenty of standout moments in the Raiders 30-6 shellacking of the visiting Giants, punter A.J. Cole III is the only one that entered the NFL record books. The 27-year-old set a new single-game mark with a stupendous 63.6 yards per punt average. Cole was called up five times against New York and bombed each punt for a total of 318 yards. His long of the afternoon was a 69-yard boomer, displaying the elite leg the North Carolina State product truly has.
That was for #RaiderNation https://t.co/gd74gtSKgJ
— AJ Cole (@AJCole90) November 6, 2023
The previous record was 63.0, set by Andy Lee when he was with the Carolina Panthers back in 2016. He booted the ball four times for 252 yards.
Opening Up The Books For These Raiders
Now it’s Cole who owns that record, and it may be some time before someone else’s name is etched in that spot in the NFL record books.
While his kick squad mate Daniel Carlson didn’t set a new record, the Raiders place kicker was his usual steady self, going 3-for-3 on field goals (a long of 46 yards) and extra points to score 12 of the Raiders’ 30 points.
Unlike in other games, though, Carlson’s field goal attempts didn’t arrive until the Raiders built a commanding 21-0 lead. His first boot was a 24-yard try just before halftime. Then, the ensuing two attempts arrived near the midway points of the third and fourth quarters to build upon the Silver and Black advantage. Under the previous head coach and play caller, Carlson was often called upon first, with end zone visits sadly being uncommon.
Daniel Carlson and A.J. Cole walking out to N.W.A. playing at Raiders practice pic.twitter.com/ilZePR6Dnu
— RaiderRamble.com™ (@TheRaiderRamble) November 2, 2023
But Sunday’s performance by not only the elite special team’s battery of Cole, Carlson, and long snapper Jacob Bobenmoyer, but the entire team as a whole, exemplified the complementary football Las Vegas desperately needs. And it took one game for Pierce and his group to get that out of these raggamuffin Raiders.
“Team effort, special teams, outstanding job in punt coverage, kickoff coverage,” Pierce said during his postgame press conference Sunday. “We went three-for-three on our field goals; offense came out the gate just physical, downhill running, O-line finishing runs.”
Things weren’t perfect, but for the first game in the AP (Antonio Pierce) Era, it was not a bad start.
On the year, Cole has 32 punts for 1,663 yards (52.0 average) with a league-leading net average of 47.3. He trails the Tennessee Titans’ Ryan Stonehouse (52.3) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Jake Camarda (52.3) in average per boot. However, the Raiders’ punter has a nearly three-yard advantage in net average (this takes into account the return yardage and touchbacks). Cole remains a field-flipping specialist who can pin the opposition deep. In turn, that gives the Raiders defense breathing room.
Carlson, on the other hand, is 14 of 17 on the year on field goal attempts and 14-for-14 on extra points. The three field goals made in the victory over the Giants mark his second-highest total of the season, and for the year, he’s scored 56 of the Raiders’ total 156 output. Carlson’s 82.4% accuracy rate has him at 21st overall in the league, and his season-long of 47 yards puts him at 31st in the NFL.
The duo of Cole and Carlson have the opportunity to showcase their elite skill sets on primetime this Sunday. That’s when the Raiders host the New York Jets for a Sunday night clash at Allegiant Stadium. New York’s defense is quite stingy; the team is ranked sixth in points and 14th in yards allowed. So, chances are Cole and Carlson will get their opportunities to show a national audience how good they truly are.
*Top Photo: Fox News