WATCH: Raiders' WR Jakobi Meyers Speaks Ahead of Chargers Matchup

Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Jakobi Meyers spoke ahead of the 2024 regular season finale against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Dec 29, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Jakobi Meyers (16) signals a first down against the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images / Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- The Las Vegas Raiders face the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 18 to close out the 2024 season.

Wide receiver Jakobi Meyers has been one of the biggest playmakers for the Silver and Black this season alongside rookie tight end Brock Bowers. Meyers spoke ahead of the season finale, and we have the entire video right here:

Head coach Antonio Pierce

Q: Obviously, Ameer Abdullah is coming off a huge game, but he's been out of practice this week. Any updates on him?

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, he'll be doubtful."

Q: I know it's next man up and that's the mentality, but a guy that had that good of a game, and obviously a reward for a career like his, is it just personally kind of sad to see?

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, you’d like to see him finish and follow it up, but he's doubtful."

Q: Who do you think would step up, would it be Alexander Mattison?

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, Alex [Mattison]."

Q: Jakobi Meyers is a guy who never really worries about anything individually, but he is in play for his first 1,000-yard season. Just what have you thought about him throughout the year? Is that something you'd like to see him get?

Coach Pierce: "Yeah. I mean, you love to see guys get their individual awards and accolades, but being around Jakobi [Meyers], team player, wants to win, wants to go out as a winner."

Q: Speaking of team players, you've obviously spoken a lot about Brock Bowers, but what does it say about him when you come up to him and you remind him of the stats or you congratulate him and the first thing that comes out of his mouth is “It was accompanied by a win” or “We’ve got to do more for the team to get that win.” What does it say about him and just what he can become as a player with that mindset?

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, it goes back to the first day I met him. That's all he talked about was winning. He didn't care about anything else. He's like, 'Where's the practice field? Where's my locker? Where's my cleats?' It was all ball. And with a guy that's been established now for a couple years from college now doing it in the pros, it's really impressive just to see the maturity, not worried about it and everybody's patting him on the back, got jerseys, got shirts and all this stuff, and he just wants to work. He just wants to work and win. And you can't have enough of those guys. You want to build that culture. You want more guys in the building just like that and that mindset."

Q: You were just talking about Jakobi Meyers, but Jakobi added along with Robert Spillane, can you just talk about them being able to step up with injuries and transactional things, them stepping up, not only on the field, but as leaders in the locker room?

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, obviously you had a big loss in the middle season when you trade a good player, and Jakobi [Meyers] steps up, and him and Brock [Bowers] right there are the top targets, 100 plus targets, and doing a really good job moving the chains. I think over the last couple weeks, Jakobi's made some really big time catches and done a good job. And can't speak highly enough of Robert Spillane. One of the guys you want to see him be here, be a Raider for a long time. And he's come in, and all he's done is produce. Two back-to-back seasons of very high production in the run game, obviously in the passing game with interceptions, and I think more importantly just his leadership. He's a guy that's just blue collar, shows up to work every day, does it with a smile, happy, loves it, loves being around his teammates. Those are two guys, and I didn't think about that, they're two undrafted players, right, that we brought in from other teams, and all they've done is stepped in and have had a leadership role for us."

Q: You mentioned earlier this week that the message to the team was “Finish.” For you as a former player and now coach, going into the last weekend of the season, how does that feel, kind of compare and contrast to what it was as you were a player and now as a coach?

Coach Pierce: "Well, I'll go to it, we're playing about half the guys that's going to be on the active roster on Sunday. They’ve got a lot to play for. The future, to keep earning their reps, earn their future roles and things of that nature with the Raiders in 2025. So, I think our situation is a little different. We don't have a lot of guys that are proven players, so there's so much on the table for themselves, our coaching staff, and everybody to really finish this thing off with the win at home in front of Raider Nation and to cap off this 2024 season."

Q: To that point, who are some players that have maybe been excelling behind closed doors that don't get the kind of recognition that the typical guys do?

Coach Pierce: "The O-line, DJ Glaze. I'm going to keep talking about him, just consistent. Going back to training camp, it's impressive, blocking Malcolm [Koonce], blocking Maxx Crosby, then watching him go out throughout the season and just be consistent. I think you really just look at our special teams players, there's been some of these young guys that stepped up. [Thomas] Harper, we talked about Isaiah [PolaMao] the other day, Tre Tucker constantly improving, [Kyu Blu] Kelly, a lot of these young guys that we’re bringing up on the practice squad, Jonah [Laulu]. I mean, I can go on and on. I mean, so many guys that really have stepped up over the last eight weeks just due to injuries and things of that nature, and just watching them produce whatever their role is, five snaps, 50, 60 snaps, be a starter. Andre Carter [II] just came in the other day, hell can slow him down a little bit on the quarterback, but really productive with his rush, just really like what he's got. So really excited for the future and the young players we've got our team."

Q: You mentioned the offensive line. Jordan Meredith was back on the practice field yesterday. What's his status for the game? What's the plan if he is able to go?

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, he'll be limited. We'll stay with the same five guys that were starting last week."

Q: What do you think it would mean to close the season with three straight wins?

Coach Pierce: "I think it's huge. I mean, you always want to finish the season playing your best football, and I think we are, regardless of record, losing those games against the Falcons and stuff, I thought we had a chance there. But talked about this probably about a month and a half ago, we talked about progress, improvement, seeing consistent play, and I think you're seeing that from our team."

Q: Regarding Scott and Norv Turner this season, how do you evaluate and assess the job that they've done stepping in?

Coach Pierce: "Well, Scott's [Turner] been here. I thought bringing Norv [Turner] in, obviously just that veteran presence. It's kind of cool having them kind of old heads around, because he says certain things that are real catchy, and it makes a lot of our younger guys look back and kind of like, 'What the hell did you just say?' But I think Scott's done a good job of keeping everything, the continuity, the chemistry. Put Joe Philbin in that group as well, because that's probably been our biggest improvement is on O-line."

Q: What have been your impressions so far of Chris Collier?

Coach Pierce: "It's good. I mean, tried to give him some reps last week, but Ameer [Abdullah] was so hot, it didn't happen until late in the game in that four-minute drive. Hopefully this week we can get to see him early. We'd like to see him and Dylan [Laube] get some carries this week. So, he's been really good in practice, kind of amped up his reps in practice as well, getting him ready to play in the game."

Q: What has it been about K'Lavon Chaisson that's made it click since he's been with the Raiders? He's already up to five sacks.

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, I think just really just the buy in. I think when he first got here, former first rounder, where do I fit in with Maxx [Crosby] and all these other players, Tyree Wilson? And then we played him early in the first game, probably should have held off against Baltimore, but just watching him go through the progression, really buying into our technique, what we're asking him to do. And we've done a lot with him. I mean he's dropped, he's rushed, he's peeled on the backs. I mean, he's done a lot, interception, dropped one against [Jacksonville] that I know he wants back, but he's been a pleasant surprise. Obviously, the physical traits are there, but just the mentality, really good in the locker room. Probably one of the better players that we didn't talk about after the Saints game, that before the game, just the message that he was talking about was really good for our team."

Q: The Chargers might be playing for something very significant, and they might not have anything to play for after Saturday night's results, and rest some guys Sunday. Does that change your mentality or your mindset?

Coach Pierce: "Worried about the Raiders. Just worried about the Raiders."

Q: Finishing the year going against the league's best scoring defense, offensively, what do you hope to see just in this final game?

Coach Pierce: "Score more than them."

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