Raiders Improved in Numerous Categories Under Pierce

It has been well stated exactly how much the Las Vegas Raiders improved on defense under Interim Coach Antonio Pierce but they improved in various areas on both sides of the ball.

The Las Vegas Raiders entered this season as a team with talent at nearly all of the marquee positions on the football field. 

Th Raiders returned the previous season's leading rusher, Josh Jacobs. They had All-Pro receiver Davante Adams and a veteran quarterback with the experience and familiarity with Las Vegas' previous coaching staff to make the Raiders more than a respectable offense.

On defense, they returned a budding defensive backfield with veteran addition Marcus Epps from last season's NFC Champions, the Philadelphia Eagles. 

The Raiders had a defensive line that contained veteran Maxx Crosby and a top draft pick, defensive end Tyree Wilson. In addition, Las Vegas added linebacker Robert Spillane, who arguably one of the better linebackers in the AFC, if not the entire National Football League.

Still, the Raiders collectively struggled under former Coach Josh McDaniels. After consecutive disappointing losses to the Chicago Bears and the Detroit Lions, owner Mark Davis decided to relieve McDaniels, offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi, and General Manager Dave Ziegler of their respective duties and replaced them with Antonio Pierce, Bo Hardegree and Champ Kelly.

The Las Vegas Raiders removed the interim tag from Head Coach Antonio Pierce / © Denny Medley | 2023 Dec 25

Under Pierce, the Raiders defense, which had already shown improvement, became even better once Pierce was promoted from linebacker coach to interim head coach. Under McDaniels, the Raiders' defense allowed more than 23 points per game; under Pierce, that dropped to 16 points per game.

The Raiders' improvement, however, was seen beyond only the defense. After the first eight games this season under McDaniels, the Raiders had a record of 3-5, while averaging roughly 16 points per game. 

In Pierce's first nine games at the helm, the Raiders finished with a record of 5-4, with a rookie quarterback, and two losses that could have been victories had a few plays gone differently. 

The offense averaged nearly an extra touchdown per game under Pierce than it did under McDaniels, averaging 22.9 points per game. This was after the Raiders' offense failed to score over 20 points one time in the first eight games of the season under McDaniels. 

There are many areas in which the Raiders' switch to Pierce positively impacted the team. That went well beyond only inside the locker room.

Pierce bringing the locker room closer together was the first step in getting better production on the field. The Raiders look to take another step forward as next season approaches.

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