The Las Vegas Raiders may be 2-9 through 12 weeks, but that hasn’t changed how Sin City’s head coach Antonio Pierce, is approaching football games. To the displeasure of [part of] Raider Nation, Pierce has only one thing on his mind each week: winning. “There’s no giving, no tanking, none of that B.S. that’s being said. We’re trying to win every game possible,” Pierce emphasized earlier in the week. Unfortunately, winning will be challenging to do without cornerbacks Jakorian Bennett and Nate Hobbs.
Even more unfortunate is the fact the Kansas City Chiefs are up next on the schedule.
Las Vegas will take on their AFC West foes at Arrowhead Stadium on Friday in a game where Patrick Mahomes and company will be seeking revenge. The last time Kansas City lost a game at home was in Week 16 of last season, when the Silver and Black marched into their territory and left with a 20-14 victory.
Aidan O’Connell was Las Vegas’ signal caller during that contest; as fate would have it, O’Connell returned from the injured reserves list this week in preparation to start his first game back against the Chiefs.
If the Raiders want to make it two wins in a row at Arrowhead, they’ll need their cornerbacks to step up in the absence of both Jakorian Bennett and Nate Hobbs.
Jakorian Bennett and Nate Hobbs officially out in Week 13; will another cornerback step up for the Las Vegas Raiders?
Of the three starting cornerbacks who play for the Raiders, Jack Jones is the only one who will take the field on Friday. This detail is as fitting as the aforementioned O’Connell side note due to Jones’ part in the Raiders win over Kansas City at Arrowhead Stadium last season.
Prior to the team’s Week 16 contest in 2023, Jones explained to the media that if he stops the magician, being Patrick Mahomes, then the act is over. Sure enough, Jones notched a pick-six during that same game against Mahomes with a touchdown that may have ultimately been the reason Las Vegas walked away as winners.
This, of course, is just another reason why Mahomes and the Chiefs will be looking for revenge on Friday.
In any case, Jones won’t be able to cover the entirety of Kansas City’s roster by himself. He’ll need some help from cornerbacks Decamerion Richardson and Darnay Holmes, who will be stepping in as replacements for Bennett and Hobbs.
It was an up-and-down week for both Richardson and Holmes in Week 12, who both served as starters against the Denver Broncos. For Holmes, seven of the eight passes his way resulted in a completion. Although Richardson allowed two less completions on the same amount of targets, he was responsible for surrendering a touchdown while Holmes wasn’t.
The good, however, is that both cornerbacks—in addition to Jones—managed to get into the pass-breakups category last week. That’s something no cornerback on the team was able to do in Week 11.
Las Vegas will need their corners to continue forcing incompletions if they wish to have a competitive outing against Mahomes and the Chiefs. Can the two first-year Raiders deliver?
*Top Photo: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
AFC West Notes: Maxx Crosby’s An Award Finalist, Raiders Fans vs. Coach Prime, And Chargers Lose RB