The week 9 preview is the first of a new era of Raiders football.
That is a sentence that has been uttered too many times over the last couple of decades but this time it absolutely needed to happen. Head coach Josh McDaniels, offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi, and general manager Dave Ziegler were all fired by owner Mark Davis on Halloween night.
The “Patriot Way” and “Patriots West” are no more in Las Vegas and that should be enough for Mark Davis to throw another parade on the Strip like he just had for his WNBA Championship team a few weeks ago, even if it will cost him a total of $85 million to pay off both men.
The Raiders come into this week 9 preview with new head coach Antonio Pierce. Pierce played for several years in the league for Washington and the New York Giants, the Raiders opponents this Sunday. He was a Pro Bowler and even won a Super Bowl as a player, so he can relate to everybody on the team.
Las Vegas Raiders Head Coach Antonio Pierce – Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP
Pierce also brought great energy and intensity to his opening press conference. He talked about Raider Pride and discussed how the NFL is a results-driven business. He talked about growing up in Compton, California, and seeing the old Los Angeles Raiders in the Coliseum.
In short, he seems like the kind of guy the Raiders have been missing since letting Rich Bisaccia go after making the playoffs in 2021. Ironic that both coaches got the interim head coach label.
The Raiders have also made some roster moves, releasing cornerback David Long Jr and wide receiver Kristian Wilkerson. They’ve added former Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smith and former Broncos defensive lineman Malik Reed.
The New York Giants come into this week 9 preview limping in after one of the worst games in recent memory. In a punt-fest with the crosstown rival New York Jets, they saw backup QB Tyrod Taylor get injured. In came 3rd string quarterback Tommy Devito. The Giants then went the entire second half without completing a pass until overtime, where Devito completed 2 passes for -1 yards. Tyrod Taylor led the team with 8 yards passing. They lost in OT.
The Giants suffered a litany of key injuries. Starting quarterback Daniel Jones has an injured neck and missed the last few games. Former Raiders tight end Darren Waller is hampered by a hamstring injury that is still bothering him from his time with the Raiders and is on IR. That is a sentence Raider fans should unfortunately be used to reading when it pertains to Waller. Kicker Graham Gano is now on IR as well.
The Giants also just shipped off big-time defensive lineman Leonard Williams to the Seattle Seahawks for a draft pick. They might not be all in on trying to win now considering they have struggled in a top-heavy yet competitive NFC East that is currently led by the NFC Champion Philadephia Eagles with the Dallas Cowboys right behind them. The Giants did just give quarterback Daniel Jones a questionable extension in the offseason, but this is an opponent the Raiders might be able to take down.
Let’s get into the week 9 preview and the first game of the Antonio Pierce era.
Matchups to Watch
Aidan O’Connell Era Begins vs Giants Defense
Las Vegas Raiders QB Aidan O’Connell (4) – Ethan Miller/Getty Images
After seeing Jimmy Garoppolo lead the league in interceptions, new head coach Antonio Pierce decided to bench the former starter ironically the day before his birthday. The Aidan O’Connell era, which got a sneak preview earlier this season, has been cleared to begin.
The Raiders are hopeful that the rookie signal-caller is going to carry them to greatness. Or at the very least, they are hopeful he is able to keep the football in the hands of the right players. He’s got a bit of a task in front of him facing a Giants defense that seems to be rebounding after an awful start to the season.
Looking at the week 9 preview, the Giants defense features Kavon Thibodeaux, a player that the Giants hope can develop into the next big pass-rushing monster in their great franchise’s history. Their defense held the Bills offense to 14 points, the Commanders offense to 7, and the Jets to 13 over the last 3 weeks.
Their offense is 32nd in the league which is somehow worse than the Raiders offense that hasn’t scored 20 points since week 17 of last season, but the defense has been formidable over the last few weeks.
“AOC” needs to keep the football in the hands of the playmakers and in the hands of the right team. All 3 quarterbacks have had a chance to start at least one game. All 3 quarterbacks have more interceptions than touchdowns. Every game this season has had at least 1 interception.
Coming into this game, the Raiders have the 31st-ranked offense in terms of yards and 30th in points per game.
Something to take note of, the Raiders also have a new offensive coordinator and a new playcaller. For the first time in his career, Bo Hardegree will be calling the plays as the new offensive coordinator. He had previously been the quarterback coach. It is unknown what kind of a game he will call and it is unknown how the Raiders offense will look.
Looking at this week 9 preview, if the Raiders are going to win, they need to limit the turnovers for the first time this season. They’ve done a poor job of it all season long, but with a new play-caller, there’s hope that they can reverse the tide. It will be interesting to see how “AOC” plays this Sunday compared to his first performance against the Chargers.
Daniel Jones vs. Raiders Defense
The defense has been carrying the Raiders to victories all season. It is entirely ironic because the Raiders have spent almost double the amount of money on their offense compared to their defense.
Patrick Graham has gotten the defense playing the right way for the first time in decades. Minus the game in Chicago where the entire team laid an egg, they have played beyond all expectations so far. If they hadn’t I don’t think the Raiders would have won a game this season. They’ve been that bad offensively.
How will the defense come out on Sunday? Are they going to play even better than before? They’re up against the 32nd-ranked offense in the league this season and need to perform better than they did the last time they faced a bottom-of-the-barrel offense in the Chicago Bears.
On the flip side, Daniel Jones has been cleared to start at quarterback for the New York Giants. Jones has only scored a touchdown in 1 out of the 5 games that he’s played in this season.
The Giants offense was historically bad to start this season. Last week, they ran the ball over 50 times and went the entire second half without completing a single pass. They completed 2 passes for -1 yards in overtime and finished with 8 yards passing for the entire game. Jones can surpass that with a single pass, but can the Raiders continue to keep the Giants offense in the dumps?
Looking at this week 9 preview, the Raiders defense needs to snap. They need to go out there and continue what they have been doing, maybe even kick up a notch. This is a favorable matchup in this week 9 preview. Maxx Crosby and the crew can go out there and open the Antonio Pierce era the right way.
Can Davante Adams and Josh Jacobs Step It Up?
Las Vegas Raiders RB Josh Jacobs (8) and WR Davante Adams (17) – Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Coming into this week 9 preview, Antonio Pierce had amazingly high praise for Josh Jacobs this week. Pierce stated “He’s a heartbeat. He’s a workhorse. He’s a Raider. He’s gonna be a Raider. When Josh Jacobs is running, the Raiders are winning.”
Pierce is 100% right. When Jacobs gets the ball 20+ times in a game, the Raiders win % is overwhelmingly high. Where he goes, the offense goes. He’s been completely mistreated since McDaniels took over and has been shown nothing but disrespect. Pierce has gone in the other direction instead with his comments.
The Raiders passing game absolutely needs to flow through Davante Adams as well. It opens things up for tight end Michael Mayer and wide receiver Jakobi Meyers when Adams gets going because he takes up so much attention. Even Jacobs can get going in the passing game when Adams is a heavy feature in the Raiders passing attack.
The Raiders need to finally get things going offensively. On Monday, the running game worked great on their drive before the 2nd half only for McDaniels to return to trying to air it out despite an extremely ineffective passing game. If something is working, stick to it rather than trying to force something that isn’t working. It’s not that complicated unless you make it complicated.
Get the football into the hands of your best players. Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games. Make it happen and get the ball into the hands of your best players.
Prediction:
I like the intensity and the fire that I have seen this week from head coach Antonio Pierce. The team has needed a major influx of their energy for a while now. The team has gone from being a 10-win team that dragged itself into the playoffs into a soulless shell of what they previously were, despite arguably adding more talent onto the roster. That says something to the effect that chemistry can have.
With that being said, I expect the Raiders to come out and win on Sunday. I want to see them go out and play with energy and fire. Show that they love the game and that they’re ready to have some fun. They’ve been robots since 2022. It’s time to go out and get back to the “Raider Way” of football.
