Things are starting to spiral out of control for the Las Vegas Raiders and head coach Antonio Pierce as they dropped another game this past weekend, this time against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Raiders were blown out 41-24, falling to 2-7 on the regular season and basically out of the playoffs race. Las Vegas was a mess on both ends, particularly defensively, as they allowed Joe Burrow to throw all over the field and rack up five touchdown passes in the process.
Offensively, the Silver and Black look lost as they’ve got no competent play out of the quarterback position. Gardner Minshew drew the start for the Raiders but was later benched late in the third quarter for Desmond Ridder.
With a Week 10 matchup against the Miami Dolphins looming, Pierce admitted he’s not sure who to start between Minshew and Ridder via Adam Schefter of ESPN:
Raiders HC Antonio Pierce told reporters that he hasn’t decided who will call plays or who will play quarterback once his team returns from its upcoming bye.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 4, 2024
Additionally, Pierce has to figure out who will be calling the offense after the team decided to part ways with former offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. Both Minshew and Ridder are far from quality starting quarterbacks, and neither has shown they can steer the ship with the limited offensive options remaining on the roster.
While Minshew threw for more yards against the Bengals, Ridder was able to record the team’s only touchdown pass. At this point, it feels like Pierce may go with Ridder to get a longer look at the young signal caller.
Regardless of who Pierce starts, though, Las Vegas will find it hard to move the football downfield now that Davante Adams is no longer with the team. Despite the emergence of Brock Bowers, the Raiders are sorely lacking in explosive receivers who can take the top off a defense and win in the intermediate areas of the field.
Team owner Mark Davis is in for another dramatic offseason that could feature some major changes if Pierce is unable to right the ship in the second half of the 2024 season.
Antonio Pierce Insists Raiders aren’t Tanking
With the Raiders struggling to put together any wins, there are whispers that Pierce and company are tanking for a better draft pick in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft. However, Pierce insisted that he and the team weren’t intentionally losing and chalked it up to the group just being bad.
