'SNF' takeaways: Raiders' Antonio Pierce is making a case to shed interim tag after comeback win
The Las Vegas Raiders (5-5) came from behind to beat the New York Jets (4-5) on "Sunday Night Football," improving to 2-0 in the Antonio Pierce era. Here are three takeaways from the Raiders primetime win:
Antonio Pierce is making a case to shed the interim tag: While it wasn't nearly as pretty as the 30-6 win over the New York Giants in his debut as coach in Week 9, Sunday night was a genuine statement game for Pierce. Losing throughout the game, Pierce pushed all the right buttons down the stretch.
The swagger long associated with the Raiders had faded, but it's slowly making a comeback in only two games under Pierce. It's still early, and the NFL has seen plenty of flavors of the week fall back to obscurity just as quickly. However, Pierce has two wins as Raiders head coach, a feat that took Josh McDaniels nine games to accomplish.
After passing his first real test as head coach, the road ahead does not get much easier. Next up for the Raiders? A road game against the Miami Dolphins before hosting the defending Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Supporting cast let Jets QB Zach Wilson down: Wilson will get the brunt of the criticism for throwing the game-deciding interception as the Jets were on the doorstep of a go-ahead score in the waning moments of the fourth quarter.
The decision by Wilson wasn't a good one, and WR Allen Lazard isn't without blame for failing to come back to the football, allowing Raiders linebacker Robert Spillane to cut the route. However, the issues with the Jets offense go deeper than their late-game blunder.
The Jets settled for field goals throughout the game, but several drives stalled through no fault of Wilson's. Tight end C.J. Uzomah committed two brutal holding penalties, wiping out a first down play and taking a touchdown off the board in the first half. Also, Wilson's receivers, including Garrett Wilson, let several key passes hit the ground.
Wilson completed 23 of 39 passes for 263 yards (6.7 YPA) and threw his first interception in 151 attempts. He also added four rushes for 54 yards (13.5 YPA). Yet, he'll be the goat come Monday morning.
Is Josh Jacobs finally being unleashed? The Raiders leaned hard on Jacobs for the second straight week. After receiving 28 total touches in Week 9, Jacobs handled the ball 27 times on Sunday night. It's only the second time all season he's touched the football 25 or more times in back-to-back weeks.
Jacobs lost a fumble late, making things interesting, but overall, he had a very solid night. The Raiders electric back had 27 carries for 116 yards (4.3) and caught two passes for 11 yards (5.5).
Under McDaniels, Jacobs' usage was up and down. However, Pierce seems ready to ride one of the team's most explosive players, and that's probably a good thing.
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