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This will be a special week 9 slay and bomb article. The Raiders played their best game in years.
The first game of the Antonio Pierce era was an extremely memorable one. Behind the backdrop of Allegiant Stadium, the Raiders played their most complete game in a long, long time. They played with a fire and an energy that hadn’t been seen since the 2021 season and defeated the New York Giants by a score of 30-6.
The Raiders took a 24-point lead into halftime, their biggest lead at halftime since week 2 of the 2017 season against the New York Jets(also known as the Marshawn Lynch game when he danced on the sidelines). Last season under Josh McDaniels, they set a record for choking away more 17-point second-half leads than anybody in NFL history.
The game was never in doubt. The entire team showed up and performed. Absolutely nobody qualified for a bomb performance. Quite a few players can qualify for slay performances. That makes this week 9 slay and bomb article unique. It was as close to a perfect game as the team has played in a long time.
Postgame, the team celebrated the win with victory cigars all over the locker room. Head coach Antonio Pierce led a Raiders chant. The home crowd was revitalized and energetic. Aidan O’Connell managed to do what Jimmy Garoppolo hadn’t done all season and threw the football down the field. He also became the first Raiders QB to not throw an interception in a game this season. The team went out and performed.
Shout out to Hunter Renfrow. When I was watching this game at Buffalo Wild Wings with my wonderful girlfriend, the entire place went crazy when he caught a pass for a first down. He’s been completely neglected all year long and was the biggest victim of the Josh McDaniels administration.
The Raiders almost shipped Renfrow off to New Orleans for nothing, and they were going to pay him $13 million to play for somebody else. He’s talked all week about finally being free to be himself again and it showed on Sunday. He will always certainly be a fan favorite.
Prayers up to New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones. It’s feared he suffered a serious knee injury in Sunday’s game, and we all hate injuries. I sincerely hope both for his sake as well as for the sake of his team that it is not a serious injury.
Slay
Josh Jacobs
Josh Jacobs finally was unleashed to the tune of 98 yards and 2 touchdowns. Both were season highs. After an extremely tumultuous offseason and the worst beginning to his career, Jacobs absolutely popped off. He appeared to be released from whatever seemed to be holding him back.
The blocking upfront was much better compared to other weeks as well which had to help. Jacobs was running through holes all game but did an amazing job to make defenders miss and gain extra yards. He didn’t get stopped very often and was close to breaking 100 yards for the entire game.
The game opened up for Jacobs and rather than deviating away from what was working, Jacobs continually got the ball all game long until the game was out of reach. The team needed a big game from the guy that head coach Antonio Pierce described as the “heartbeat” of the team and they certainly got it.
Hopefully against the Jets next week, Jacobs can continue his performance.
The Pass Rush
Raiders EDGE Malcolm Koonce(51) – John Locher/AP Photo
The Raiders entire defense was on fire. But the pass rush was especially electric all game long.
The Raiders pass rush finished with 8 sacks on Sunday. Maxx Crosby had 3 sacks on Sunday, continuing his amazing season. Bilal Nichols, Adam Butler, Malcolm Koonce, and Trevon Moehrig all finished with 1 sack individually. Robert Spillane and Tyree Wilson each combined for half a sack on 1 play as well.
“The quarterback must go down, and he must go down hard”-Al Davis. The Raiders defense definitely lived up to that motto on Sunday. Between the 2 quarterbacks that the Giants fielded, the pass rush got into the backfield on almost every play and disrupted everything.
It was extremely rare that Tommy DeVito or Daniel Jones had any sort of time in the pocket to throw, and both quarterbacks spent most of the game running for their lives.
If the Raiders pass rush can keep this up consistently, they’re going to make a huge difference in the future.
Aidan O’Connell and Antonio Pierce
Raiders HC Antonio Pierce – Rick Scuteri/AP Photo
“AOC” managed to do the one thing nobody has done all season for the Raiders. He went the entire game without turning over the football. No Raiders quarterback(including O’Connell himself in LA) had gone a single game without throwing an interception. The streak of 15 consecutive games with a turnover by the Raiders offense is finally over. O’Connell finished with 209 yards on 16/25 passing for 0 touchdowns and more importantly 0 interceptions.
Antonio Pierce managed to coach a heck of a game on Sunday simply by not being Josh McDaniels. He didn’t try to outsmart everybody in the room, he related to his players, and he trusted the players as well as the coaching staff to do their jobs and get it done on Sunday. He was also fired up after the game, and deservingly so.
Pierce was a revelation on Sunday and definitely had the guys motivated and prepared to go out on Sunday. It was a welcome change of pace. It is unknown what will happen after this week to either gentleman. It is not known if Aidan O’Connell is the future of the franchise. We do not know if Antonio Pierce will be the head coach of the Raiders after this season. But let the good times roll while they can.
Bomb
None
This was an easy section to write this week. I couldn’t find any player or coach who had a bomb performance this week. It’s been a long time since I or anybody else has been able to say that.
The only thing is it felt like the team let off the gas in the second half. It’s hard not to when you’re up by 24 points pretty much the entire second half. It’s only concerning when you’re coming off a season where the team set records for blowing leads. But this was the first game in a long time that felt like the Raiders had it won and they actually completed the blowout.
Next week, the Raiders are back in primetime as they face Zach Wilson and the New York Jets. The Jets bring a tough defense to go along with a surprisingly rough offense. It’s really only rough because future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles to open the season and has instead spent his time launching into anti-vax rants on the Pat McAfee Show on ESPN.
It will be a thrilling game under the lights in Las Vegas. Let’s see if they can keep this momentum rolling in the Antonio Pierce era.
