Antonio Pierce and the Las Vegas Raiders took the field in Week 11 against the Miami Dolphins in what was their first game without now-former offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. Miami’s defense, which came into the week allowing the 11th-least points (20.2) in addition to tying for fifth-least takeaways, held Sin City to under 20 points while securing a turnover from quarterback Gardner Minshew. Of the 23 teams to play on Sunday who weren’t the Raiders, only seven put up less points than the Silver and Black.
Although Raider Nation was pleased with Pierce opting to use his offensive coordinator as a scapegoat after nine weeks, the reality is, it matters little who’s calling the plays due to repeated execution failures. If that hadn’t already been made clear, Minshew and company hammered it home with their 19-34 loss at the hands of a new play-caller.
That’s the bad news. There’s good news, too.
While the offense continued their journey of putting as few points on the board as possible this season, rookie tight end Brock Bowers had a career-day on top of what is already shaping up to be the best rookie campaign by a tight end in NFL history. Not only was his 126 receiving yards a career-high, but his 13 receptions were as well. The 21-year-old was able to get into the end zone for the second time in two games.
Currently, Bowers sits 371 receiving yards away from owning the rookie tight end season-record. The Georgia alum is also 17 catches shy from claiming the rookie tight end record for most receptions in a season.
Beyond Bowers, Week 11’s positives include edge rusher Tyree Wilson adding a strip-sack to his resume and safety Tre’von Moehrig breaking up a couple of passes.
What’s next for Antonio Pierce and the Las Vegas Raiders?
Close your eyes, Raider Nation—despite the 2-8 record, Sin City will continue actively trying to win games until the bitter end. Jobs are on the line, including that of the team’s head coach, and the only way to prove you deserve a job in the NFL is to win football games.
It’s safe to open your eyes again. In fact, this is where those who are rooting for draft position can sleep well at night.
Although the Raiders will continue actively trying to win football games, they’ve been doing just that all season. And, despite their best efforts, they’ve managed to win just two games while walking away losers of eight.
More than that, Las Vegas has somehow managed to look worse than their 2-8 record says they are. A game hasn’t gone by this season where the Raiders didn’t find themselves trailing by double-digits at some point. If one play in each of their two wins didn’t go their way, Sin City would likely find themselves winless through 10 contests.
The bad gets worse this offseason as seven of the team’s defensive starters are ready to hit the open market.
Fortunately, keeping the core of a roster together has been a specialty of first-year Raiders general manager Tom Telesco. Not only does Telesco have a track record of successfully building through the draft, but he’s been exceptional at making sure the talent he brings in sticks around for a while.
Las Vegas will need Telesco to flash his abilities in that department next summer. If he’s able to do that, while simultaneously addressing the team’s quarterback situation, perhaps wins are in store next season.
In the meantime, Antonio Pierce will continue fighting for a job that, at this moment, seems all but lost.
*Top Photo: Getty Images