Raiders studs & duds from Week 1: Defense shines in loss

Dud - Antonio Pierce

This was a tough debut for Pierce as the official head coach of the Raiders after he got his interim tag removed during the offseason. The defense looked as advertised but the offense was brutal and there were two chances that Pierce had to make his mark on the game but unfortunately went the conservative route or route of inaction. 

Early in the game the Raiders had a 3rd-and-9 and ran a short pass to Tre Tucker who looked like he had enough for the first down. Instead, the officials marked him a yard short and the Raiders failed to get the first down on a 4th-and-1 plunge from Zamir White. 

On replay, the Tucker catch and run looked like enough for the first down but rather than challenge the play to get the first, Pierce went for it on fourth down and the Raiders were stuffed for a turnover on downs. We know it was early in the game but if you're willing to go for it you should be willing to risk a challenge as well. 

The other moment came with seven minutes left in the game where the Raiders faced a 4th-and-1 from the Chargers 43 while down 16-10. The obvious choice was to go for it and keep the drive for the go-ahead score alive but instead Pierce chose to punt it and his tired defense gave up a 92-yard touchdown drive that essentially sealed the game for LA. 

Pierce spent all offseason talking about being a bully and he had his chance to impose his will on the game by getting that 4th-and-1 and keeping momentum on their side. Instead, he went the conservative route and his tired defense couldn’t deliver the stop the Raiders so desperately needed. He has a tendency to make conservative decisions when he should be more aggressive and this was a great example of that.