The Las Vegas Raiders began the Antonio Pierce era with an impressive 30-6 win over the New York Giants last Sunday. One of the questions that Pierce will need to answer in the interim will be whether the players, including Jakobi Meyers, buy into what he’s selling, and for one game, they have.
Meyers was one of the players who had a bounce-back performance in Pierce’s first game. The former Patriot only had one catch in the final contest that Josh McDaniels coached. Let’s look at how the 27-year-old has performed overall as he hits the midway point of Year 1 with the Silver and Black.
Jakobi Meyers returns to finding the end zone under Antonio Pierce
While the Las Vegas offense wasn’t clicking under its former head coach, Meyers put up quality performances week after week. The North Carolina Stat alum found the end zone early and often. However, he’s yet to register a game over 100 receiving yards this 2023 NFL season. So, in Meyers’ case, it felt like McDaniels didn’t get the most out of the wideout.
Nonetheless, it seems that the Raiders might be experimenting with other ways of having the ball in Meyers’ hands under Pierce. Even though the wide receiver had two catches for 38 receiving yards, the coaching staff had another way to get him involved.
In the red zone, the Raiders called a trick play that allowed Meyers to rush for a 17-yard touchdown. Still, Pierce and his coaching staff will have to figure out how to improve the passing game because the talent is there. Aidan O’Connell has options. It’s all about designing plays that allow him to get the ball to these players in space more frequently.
O’Connell was spreading the ball around in his previous starts, so the rookie has yet to develop that go-to target now that he’s officially the starting signal-caller. There will be growing pains, as there are with any young player, but it’s refreshing to see the Raiders coaching staff think outside the box.
Can Jakobi Meyers develop chemistry with Aidan O’Connell?
The few times that O’Connell has been under center, Meyers hasn’t had the best performances receiving-wise. So far this season, the veteran pass catcher’s productive outings have been with Jimmy Garoppolo. As a result, Pierce and Co. will need to figure out a way to get the passing game going with AOC4 at the helm.
In the Raiders’ win over the Giants, Las Vegas finally got their running game clicking with Josh Jacobs. The current rushing champion racked up 98 yards on the ground and two touchdowns. Now the question is, how can they get the air attack to match the effectiveness of the ground assault?
Fair or not, O’Connell might have to accelerate his learning process and make the most of having Meyers, Davante Adams, and even Hunter Renfrow. The once-powerful unit is showing signs of life. It will be interesting to see if the 25-year-old can jump-start the passing game.
The Silver and Black will hit arguably the most challenging part of the schedule coming up with the Kansas City Chiefs (twice) and the Miami Dolphins. There are also the Los Angeles Chargers and Minnesota Vikings, who are vying for a playoff spot. If Las Vegas still has playoff hopes, the passing game cannot be this disastrous.
*Top Photo: Chris Unger/Getty Images