Raiders lose winnable game vs. Chargers thanks to Antonio Pierce's cowardly punt

The Raiders probably had no business beating the Chargers on Sunday, but the way they played certainly didn't help. Self-inflicted mistakes was the theme of Week 1's loss, and nothing encapsulated that more than one very specific, maddening decision that Antonio Pierce made in the 4th quarter.

With a little less than 10 minutes left in the game, down six, the Raiders got the ball back at midfield. They gained nine yards over the first three plays, and after Gardner Minshew's completion to Alexander Mattison came up one yard short of the sticks, Pierce was faced with a decision to make on 4th and 1 from the Chargers' 43 yard line. And actually, he wasn't really faced with much of a decision: down a touchdown with only seven minutes left, going for it on 4th seemed like the obvious answer. But life surprises us all in such funny ways!!!

Antonio Pierce's decision to punt in the 4th quarter was historically bad

So, instead of going for it in a relatively safe spot, Pierce decided to punt. To his credit, the field position flip worked – Raiders punter AJ Cole got the ball down to the eight yard line. But if you thought that the Raiders finally got away with one, don't worry – the Chargers immediately marched 92 yards down the field in eight plays, capped off with the game-sealing touchdown pass to Ladd McConkey. So not only did the Raiders' royally mess up a potentially game-changing decision, but they had to watch another Georgia rookie pass-catcher have his first big moment. Fun stuff!

And remember how, when you watched Pierce decide to punt, you got this weird feeling that it was a historically bad decision? That it was the kind of coaching malpractice that even the most casual NFL fan would know was wrong? Well you were right! And in fact, it may be worse than that:

I know it's a common expression and commonly used, but it's not every day that you *actually* see a team punt on an NFL win. Not only did the decision essentially cost the Raiders the game, but it was one of the worst decisions in the last 25 years. "The most cowardly punt since 1999" has a nice ring to it, in a bleak, kinda hopeless way. The Raiders are making history already! Truly anything is possible over the next four months.