The Raiders let one get away on Sunday. On the road against a division rival, Vegas couldn't overcome a litany of self-inflicted mistakes that included, but aren't limited to, multiple fumbles and some horrendous offensive production. It was the sort of underwhelming Raiders loss that fans had more-or-less expected, but in a weird way, the result was still legitimately surprising. The Raiders won't have too many chances to sneak out of divisional road games with a win, so Sunday's Week 1 loss figures to sting a little more than usual.
And if the loss itself doesn't hurt, Antonio Pierce's explanation for That Moment will. If you were out in Vegas doing Vegas things and didn't happen to catch a football game on in the middle of the day, here's a quick recap: Pierce made arguably the most cowardly punting decision in the last quarter century. I'm not joking, either – there's almost no precedent for his decision to punt, down six points, on the Chargers' half of the field. If you thought you were angry about it then, wait until you hear his explanation! What a fun blog this is turning into.
Antonio Pierce's conservative game plan cost the Raiders a win in Week 1
"I mean, we got what we wanted, we got them backed up," he said after the game. "But they broke off the lone run, and that was the end of it ... We were considering going for it, it was a long one . We got a stop earlier in the game, momentum, punter had done a good job pinning those guys back ..."
I mean, what did we expect? It's not like NFL coaches often stand up at the podium immediately after a loss and bemoan how many decisions they got wrong. And Pierce isn't technically wrong, either – Raiders punter AJ Cole did pin the Chargers on their own eight yard line, and the Raiders defense had held the Chargers to 15 points up to that moment. By almost all accounts it was the wrong decision, but you do sorta understand what he was thinking.
Pierce's conservative playcalling got swept under the rug during his interim stint last year, mostly because anything was better than Josh McDaniels. But he's been one of the most conservative coaches in the NFL since taking over for McDaniels, which will be a fascinating wrinkle to watch throughout the rest of the season. A conservative coach and Gardner Minshew: a match made in Heaven, if Heaven is a city with a six-win football team.