Just three weeks into the 2024 season, the Las Vegas Raiders already face a character test. Are they the physical, full-effort football team that went 5-4 under then-interim head coach Antonio Pierce, or has this team lost its edge and swagger?
Following an inexcusable 36-22 loss to the Carolina Panthers at home, a game in which the Raiders never led, head coach Antonio Pierce told the media that “certain individuals” made business decisions.
In the NFL world, when a coach talks about “business decisions,” it refers to players who aren’t giving their all on the field and instead going through the motions. Pierce didn’t back down from his statement this week.
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While some may prefer that coaches keep that assessment in-house, Pierce knows his football team and how his players respond to public and private criticism. Pierce has been with the club since 2022, starting out as a linebackers coach.
Though the Raiders had some roster turnover this offseason, more so on the offensive side of the ball, they kept their defensive core intact and added Christian Wilkins to bolster the unit.
Christian Wilkins speaks on the importance of leadership
Wilkins referenced strong and honest leadership as an element needed to help the team recover from an awful loss.
“Well, if you want to get better, and if you want to improve as individuals, and ultimately as a team, then you got to watch it with a critical eye,” he said. “Being grown men about it. This is a grown man’s business. It’s professional football. That’s the only way you can improve. Watch it. Be critical. Understand what your job is.
“As tough as it is after a loss, or after a bad game, you got to take it on the chin and just suck it up and just be better moving forward.”
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Wilkins’ words sound good at the podium, but what are the Raiders’ leaders doing to ensure that every individual who takes the field gives maximum effort? Ideally, Pierce should be the first to answer that question.
Pierce called out unnamed players and probably did it personally behind closed doors, but as the lead skipper of a football team, the club’s overall effort and attention to detail is a reflection of his leadership.
Sure, Pierce isn’t suiting up to make tackles, throw passes, or catch footballs. But when guys come out of the gate flat in a home opener, he has to take some of the responsibility in a leadership role.
Business decisions to make after unsuccessful wake-up calls
In fairness, Pierce said the team would also make “business decisions” going forward. Based on what the coaches saw on last week’s film, perhaps we will see fewer snaps for certain players and more for others against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
After both of the Raiders losses, Pierce said the team received a “wake-up call.” Well, how many wake-up calls do the Raiders need in September to let them know their season could go off the rails before Halloween if they don’t respond to the warning signs of a lost year?
As Pierce makes these blunt comments to the media, it seems “certain individuals” haven’t responded well to the message. So, what’s the next step in correcting this issue?
If Pierce and his staff aren’t willing to change anything about the depth chart or reduce roles on game day, the Raiders risk repeating a cycle of what we’ve seen from this franchise over the previous two decades: a momentum win followed by a deflating loss or ill-advised decision that sets everything back to square one.
The Raiders had a meeting between players and coaches to clear the air on a professional and personal level.
Raiders face early need-to-win scenario
Among NFL media outlets, the phrase “must-win game” is grossly overused, but the Raiders find themselves in a situation that fits the description of a game that they need to win. Otherwise, we could be looking at a long, disappointing year for the Silver and Black.
The Browns have their issues, with a discombobulated offensive line due to injuries and poor play, a high-paid quarterback in Deshaun Watson who’s completing just 57.8 percent of his passes, and a once-potent ground attack that ranks 24th in rushing yards without star running back Nick Chubb.
Related: Where are the Las Vegas Raiders on the current NFL standings?
If the Browns can put everything together offensively like the Panthers did last week, we have to wonder about the state of the defensive unit, which ranked ninth in scoring last year.
Thus far, all three Raiders’ opponents have rushed for at least 131 yards. If Foreman and Ford run all over the defense, it’s a welcome sign for the next opponent to do the same.
More snaps for Jackson Powers-Johnson
On the other side of the ball, the coaching staff must find the right combination along the offensive line. In Week 3, rookie second-rounder Jackson Powers-Johnson played 21 snaps at right guard in place of Dylan Parham, who has been one of the Raiders’ better offensive linemen.
On Wednesday, Pierce told reporters that Powers-Johnson did enough to earn a bigger role. Play-caller Luke Getsy and offensive line coach James Cregg must upgrade at left guard where Cody Whitehair lines up. Parham and Powers-Johnson should be the starting guards to help jump-start the ground attack.
Until the Raiders find ways to beat teams in the trenches again, Pierce will continue to talk about wake-up calls, but the truth is, this team lost some of its identity from last season.
Sure, every year, clubs must refresh, evolve, and grow in certain areas, but the Raiders don’t have a blueprint to win games right now. We know this because you would struggle to pinpoint anything they do well (as a team) with consistency through three weeks.
In gut-check moments, you learn a lot about yourself. Maybe that’s what the Raiders needed to finally answer these early-season wake-up calls.
Maurice Moton covers the Raiders for Sportsnaut. You can follow him on Twitter at @MoeMoton and listen to him talk Raiders on Silver & Black Today — an Audacy Sports original podcast covering the Raiders.