Raiders: Why Las Vegas is closer to winning playoff games than people may think

Raiders finally playing "The Raider Way"

Players are motivated more now than ever before, to play for their guy and prove they were right in wanting Pierce hired.

The whole “play like a Raider” thing does matter. I know it can get over-looked as simply being a fun marketing ploy to excite fans, but this mentality contributes to the team having one unified identity. Embracing the brand and the history will increase togetherness.

Whether players were brought to the Raiders by Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock, or Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler – it doesn’t matter, because they’re all Antonio Pierce guys. There’s no “Gruden guys” or “McDaniels guys”. With the two prior regimes there seemed to be a conscious effort to remove prior regime players. While it’s still early, with Pierce it doesn’t feel like how you got there matters. You’re either a Raider or you aren’t.

With the potential of a top ten defense next season, along with an upgrade at quarterback and offensive coordinator, the united Raiders carry a ton of momentum into 2024. I didn’t even mention that future Hall of Famer Davante Adams is still in his prime. This team is closer than everyone realizes and it’s finally fun again to be a Raiders fan.