Raiders vs Giants 2023 Week 9: Game preview and prediction

In Week 9, the Las Vegas Raiders will take on the New York Giants in a battle of two teams trying to stay relevant in their respective conferences. Both teams have been through a roller coaster ride this season, and for the Raiders, this is a great opportunity to get back into the win column against a bad Giants roster.

Former Giants Pro Bowl linebacker Antonio Pierce will be making his head coaching debut against his former team, as he takes over for the fired Josh McDaniels leading the way. McDaniels was fired on Halloween night by Mark Davis, who also let go of his general manager and offensive coordinator.

With a new day in Las Vegas in front of us, let us look at our official game preview and prediction for this matchup.

Raiders vs Giants 2023 Week 9: Game Preview

While it is a new day for the Raiders in terms of the head coach, one big move made by Pierce was declaring Aidan O'Connell as the team's starting quarterback the rest of the way. Pierce made it clear that O'Connell is the Raiders best quarterback, and the fact that Jimmy Garoppolo was so bad in the role really hindered what the Raiders wanted to do early in the season.

Davante Adams should certainly benefit from the Raiders turning to O'Connell, as he has a big arm and is not afraid to take shots downfield. The lack of a downfield passing attack has not only hurt Adams, but also the run game, as teams are stacking the box against Garoppolo.

I would expect the Raiders to take shots downfield on Sunday, and with how well the team has played recently on defense, that could end up being the difference.

Raiders vs Giants 2023 Week 9: Game Prediction

Daniel Jones will be back at starting quarterback for the Giants on Sunday, and that has to be considered a good thing for New York. Last week, Tyrod Taylor went down during the game with an injury, and the team had to turn to Tommy Devito, who apparently was not allowed to throw the football.

Jones' return will help Saquon Barkley in the run game, but with Darren Waller out, and not much talent at wide receiver, the Giants should be one-dimensional on offense. On defense, the Giants have one of the better units in the NFL, but they recently traded away Leonard Williams, so that weakens their defensive line a bit.

Overall, I like the Raiders in this one, especially at home, and playing with passion for head coach Antonio Pierce. He has seemingly already won the locker room, and a lot of the air has been let out in terms of the way McDaniels ran things, so expect a fired-up and aggressive Raiders attack on Sunday.

Final Score: Raiders 20, Giants 13