The Las Vegas Raiders are officially a 1-1 club as Antonio Pierce led a tremendous comeback against a very good Baltimore Ravens team on the road. Luckily for Vegas, the schedule seems to ease up just a bit from here after starting the season with a few punches in the mouth.
The squad's next opponent is the Carolina Panthers, who have been outscored 73-13 in their first two weeks. Things have been so bad that former No. 1 pick Bryce Young has already been benched in favor of veteran Andy Dalton, who will start against this new-look Raiders defense.
Pierce doesn't seem too concerned about playing Carolina. While fixing the Raiders' flaws should take precedence over stressing about the next opponent, Pierce's dismissal of the Panthers as if they are nothing speaks to just how far this team has fallen into the gutter lately.
"It was a win yesterday, but there were a lot of things in that first quarter that were ugly, in that first half that were ugly and in that third quarter that were ugly," Pierce said. We're not worried about the Panthers. We've got to fix the Raiders." That's brutal if you're a Carolina fan.
Raiders HC Antonio Pierce dismisses Panthers before Week 3 matchup
It's weird to call a team a "get-right" game for a Las vegas squad fresh off a pulse-pounding upset win, but the Raiders can use the Panthers to correct some of their biggest flaws. Chief among those concerns is the running game and run-blocking from the offensive line.
With the Panthers due to miss Derrick Brown for the remainder of the season and the current depth thin as it is, the Raiders could use this as an opportunity to get Zamir White and Alexander Mattison going. Time will tell if this ends up being a prudent strategy or another tough week on the ground.
While Dalton is clearly a better quarterback than Young, the Raiders' defensive line could get home against a Panthers offensive line that, while improved, is still average when compared to the rest of the league. The defense could feast in a way they haven't yet this season.
While every game in the NFL could end up as a loss irrespective of record if one of the parties doesn't take things seriously, the Raiders seem to be oozing confidence at the moment. If Vegas loses, it would be a massive upset, which speaks to where Pierce has his team after two games.