What a Win Heading into the Bye Week Would Do for the Raiders

The Las Vegas Raiders are reeling, having lost four in a row. However, an upset win on the road would be a great way to head into the bye week.

Oct 27, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers (89) warms up before a game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images / Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

At 2-6, the Las Vegas Raiders need every win they can possibly get to save the season. The season's first eight games have not been kind to the Raiders, as not much has gone right for the Silver and Black this season.

Still, they appear to be hopeful to turn around the season, but must win on the road on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals to do so.

While the Raiders are in line for one of the top picks in next year's NFL Draft, winning is still on the mind of coach Antonio Pierce. With the team already on a four-game losing streak, Pierce made it clear he hopes to steal a win in Cincinnati on Sunday.

Doing so would be huge for the team's confidence, which is a big deal for a team filled with young players.

"Momentum, confidence, a lot," Pierce said. "You don't want to have a loss and then sit for two weeks,
right? You don't want that to linger. Especially because that would be the fifth game in a row. So, we're
not looking forward to that at all.

"I think the guys have the right mindset, the right attitude, the right focus. Yesterday was really good for us from that standpoint. The energy is good, and they understand the task that we got in front of us. On the road against obviously a good offense and a good team that for the last couple years have been in playoffs."

Last season, the Raiders' bye week fell as late in the season as the NFL allows bye weeks to take place. This season, the time off came much earlier in the season. Like last season, the Raiders limp into the bye week.

However, unlike last season, they come out of the by week with plenty of games remaining to try to improve what has been a disappointing season.

"It's a perfect time for us to be honest," Pierce said. "We need it. We need to get healthy. We need to
reset. We need a self-scout. We need to look at ourselves and what can we fix going forward in those last eight games."

The Raiders are in between a rock and a hard place. They have a coach and a team that cares about winning but because of how the season went and the team's most pressing needs, losing is not as detrimental as it normally would be.

The Raiders will undoubtedly put up the best fight they can on Sunday but anyone who cares about the long-term future of the organization likely wants a different result than Pierce does.

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