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Paul Gutierrez, ESPN Staff WriterDec 19, 2024, 06:00 AM ET
- Paul Gutierrez joined NFL Nation in 2013 and serves as its Las Vegas Raiders reporter. He has a multi-platform role – writing on ESPN.com, television appearances on NFL Live and SportsCenter, and podcast and radio appearances. Before coming to ESPN, Gutierrez spent three years at CSN Bay Area as a multi-platform reporter, covering the Raiders and Oakland Athletics as well as anchoring the SportsNet Central cable news show. Gutierrez votes for the Baseball Hall of Fame and is also a member of the Professional Football Writers of America and currently serves as the PFWA’s Las Vegas chapter president. He is also a member of the California Chicano News Media Association and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Gutierrez has authored three books: Tommy Davis’ Tales from the Dodgers Dugout, 100 Things Raiders Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die and If These Walls Could Talk: Stories from the Raiders Sideline, Locker Room and Press Box with Lincoln Kennedy. You can follow Paul on Twitter @PGutierrezESPN
HENDERSON, Nev. — As the football hung in the air in the final seconds of Monday night’s game for what seemed like eons, one thought crossed Antonio Pierce’s mind.
“I just needed it to come down in Silver and Black,” the Las Vegas Raiders coach said with a weary grin.
“We need a break, right? We need a little prayer. It just didn’t go our way.”
Breaks, though, have been few and far between for the Raiders this season … unless you’re counting bones. And hearts.
Because while Raiders receiver Jakobi Meyers got his hands on Desmond Ridder‘s last-second Hail Mary pass into the end zone, it ended up in the arms of Atlanta Falcons safety Jessie Bates III for a game-sealing interception.
Las Vegas dropped its 10th straight game, equaling the franchise’s longest in-season losing streak since the team opened the 2014 season 0-10. How’s that for a mood-setter when it comes to this Raiders season?
In falling to 2-12, they are tied with the New York Giants for the worst record in the NFL and, were the draft held after the Falcons loss, the QB-needy Raiders would hold the No. 2 overall draft pick, per ESPN Analytics. Meyers hauling in Ridder’s pass would have knocked Las Vegas to No. 7.
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Such has been the Raiders’ lot in a season that began with so much excitement but was derailed by injuries, ineffectiveness, Davante Adams‘ trade demand — and more injuries.
Defensively, the Raiders were missing at least five projected starters at the end of training camp against the Falcons, from defensive ends Maxx Crosby and Malcolm Koonce to defensive tackle Christian Wilkins to cornerback Jakorian Bennett to safety Marcus Epps.
Offensively, Ridder was the third quarterback to start for Las Vegas with Gardner Minshew lost for the season because of a broken collarbone on Nov. 24 and Aidan O’Connell nursing a bone bruise on his left knee … after sitting out four games because of a broken thumb on his right (passing) hand. Plus, running back has been a never-ending carousel for the Raiders and it took nearly half the season for the offensive line to find its starting combination.
Mood, you ask?
“It’s tough being in the position we are,” Ridder said. “I mean, we’re just searching, searching for a win, searching for positive energy. We fight every single week, but we just keep saying we fight, but nothing’s happening to where we can go push over the edge and get a win.”
Ridder did not join Las Vegas until Oct. 22, when he was signed off the practice squad of the Arizona Cardinals.
“At the end of the day, we all got to be better,” he said. “I got to be better. O-line, D-line, offense, defense, I mean, special teams, we just got to be better.”
As fruitless as the Raiders’ season has been, two of their past three losses have been one-score games, with Las Vegas possessing the ball with a chance to win late in the fourth quarter.
Or did you forget about the Black Friday loss at the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, when an errant shotgun snap off an unaware O’Connell was recovered by the Chiefs? All with the Raiders in range for a potential winning field goal.
It would seem a team having so much bad luck and nothing but losses to show for it — the last time the Raiders won a game was Sept. 29 against the Cleveland Browns — would have checked out by now.
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And yet …
“Guys are all-in,” Pierce insisted. “Listen, man, just, we’re not winning. What else do you want me to tell y’all. We’re not winning. S—, do I want to win? Hell yeah, I want to win. Do I want to keep sitting here looking at the same goddamn thing every weekend and have the same discussion with y’all? No.”
What about the injuries, which have also ended seasons for role players such as receiver D.J. Turner, linebacker Luke Masterson and running back Sincere McCormick? In all, the Raiders have 13 players on IR.
“We’ve got guys that’s battling, don’t matter,” Pierce said. “Next man up, right? You can poke the armor and do all this stuff, but these guys are not budging. I’m not budging. We’ll keep chopping wood and at some point, the damn thing will break and go our way.”
What’s that about doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result?
To be fair (or unfair, depending upon your perspective), Pierce initially harbored hopes of drafting Jayden Daniels as the franchise quarterback and pairing him with offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. Instead, Minshew beat out O’Connell in training camp and three offensive coaches were fired after a Week 9 loss at the Cincinnati Bengals — offensive coorrdinator Luke Getsy, quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello and offensive line coach James Cregg.
Las Vegas has not scored more than 19 points since.
Still, a walk through the Raiders’ battered locker room does not reveal a team in disarray. Rather, it’s one of quiet exasperation and, well, confidence that a win is around the corner. Even as chances for a victory are down to the Jacksonville Jaguars (3-11), in an essential elimination game for the No. 1 draft pick, New Orleans Saints (5-9) and Los Angeles Chargers (8-6).
Until then, speculation will continue to mount on Pierce’s job security, no doubt affecting said mood of the locker room.
At last week’s NFL league meetings, Raiders owner Mark Davis said Pierce, who was promoted from interim coach after guiding the Raiders to a 5-4 finish with a 3-1 mark in the AFC West last season, and general manager Tom Telesco, hired this past offseason, were not a package deal.
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“They didn’t come in as a team,” Davis said at the time. “They are individuals.”
The morning after the Falcons loss, Pierce was asked if he had a sense on where Davis stands on his status going forward.
“Me and Mark Davis talk often,” Pierce said. “And the conversation has been the same as they always are — very positive.”
Since 2021, the Raiders have had four coaches, including interims — Jon Gruden, Rich Bisaccia, Josh McDaniels and Pierce.
Asked if he felt he had done enough to warrant a return in 2025, if extenuating circumstances should be considered, Pierce simply said, “I’m under contract.”
Talk about a mood.
