Raiders Icon's Strong Words to Turn Season Around

The Las Vegas Raiders had one of their most embarrassing losses this season against AFC West rival Denver Broncos. A former Raiders MVP winner sounded off on how to turn the season around.

Jan 26, 2003; San Diego, CA, USA; FILE PHOTO; Oakland Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon (12) in action against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during Super Bowl XXXVII at Qualcomm Stadium. The Bucs defeated the Raiders 48-21. Mandatory Credit: MPS-Imagn Images / MPS-Imagn Images

The Las Vegas Raiders suffered an embarrassing collapse at the hands of their AFC West rival, the Denver Broncos, on Sunday. They had a solid lead before letting what was a winnable game slip through their fingers.

Head coach Antonio Pierce wants consistency. Former Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon wants something else. The former Most Valuable Player award winner said in a recent video that he wants to see the Silver and Black put a micro-level focus on their game going forward.

"I think the Raiders need to take a deep breath and get back to doing the little things that are successful," Gannon said. "I think we focus so much on the X's and O's and not enough on the little things that don't require a ton of talent. And I think playing with great effort and energy and practicing doing the little things. We often say you get what you earn in this profession, when you put the effort in and the work in, we typically see the results on Sunday."

Pierce said the team is "still upstairs figuring it out."

"But when I look at last week's or yesterday's game, I think the mindset was right. We came out with energy. We came out with purpose, from special teams to defense," Pierce said. "The first quarter, we said we need to attack the first quarter. We did such. Then you got to do that each and every quarter, and again, going back to a lot of questions that's been asked today, if there's a momentum change, how do you weather the storm? I think that's where we’ve got to continue to get better at. That's a part of growth, not just for the players, our coaches, our entire team, of just being consistent, not blinking. It's a four-quarter game."

The Raiders will play the Pittsburgh Steelers at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday, a classic matchup of two traditional AFC powerhouses. The Steelers are reeling from a loss too, but the Raiders will need to play one of their best games against Pittsburgh.

The Steelers defense matches up well with the Raiders' offense and it will likely be a low-scoring affair.

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