Beyond the door of the dressing room came the scent of cigar smoke, and it was obvious that the Raiders were finally having fun.
After a week of significant upheaval, a number of players lit up after Las Vegas’ 30-6 victory against the New York Giants on Sunday. This is just the latest evidence that things have shifted.
In his first game as Las Vegas’ temporary head coach, Antonio Pierce prevailed as Josh Jacobs ran for 98 yards and two scores. Rookie Aidan O’Connell threw for 209 yards.
Three of the Raiders’ eight sacks were owned by Maxx Crosby. The Raiders’ biggest margin of victory since defeating the Denver Broncos 37-12 on November 15, 2020, came from Las Vegas holding the Giants to 275 yards. The Giants’ renowned defense let up almost as many points in a single day to the Raiders as it had in the three games before put together (34).
Pierce said, “We talked about pride and poise and getting back to being ourselves.” “We are facing everything, not looking behind us. We practiced on Thursday and Friday with the same teamwork that you witnessed today.
Daniel Jones, the quarterback for the Giants, injured his right knee after one play in the second quarter. On Monday, an MRI will be performed. Throughout the remaining minutes of the game, Tommy DeVito threw for 175 yards and a score. On 16 carries, Saquon Barkley gained 90 yards via rushes.
The Raiders had not played since early in the week, when quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was benched and general manager Dave Ziegler, offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi, and coach Josh McDaniels were sacked.
The outcome could not have gone much better for the Raiders, who matched for the sixth-largest lead when not conceding a score at halftime with a 24-0 lead.
“I think the guys felt relieved, happy, and super joyful that we could perform like this,” O’Connell said. “It’s a hard situation what happened this week.” “So, the locker room was really rocking.”
Under McDaniels’ strict leadership, the squad performed well, but Pierce, the former linebacker with the Giants, seemed to have more comfort in the locker room this week. Would it translate on the field was the issue.
It did, right from the start when wide receiver Jakobi Meyers of Las Vegas drove the team down the field and scored on a 17-yard jet sweep.
The Raiders (4-5) had already scored a season-high number of points and Jacobs had ran for a career-high 86 yards at halftime. Three weeks before, against the New England Patriots, Las Vegas’ previous best was 21 points, with the last two coming on a safety. After failing to score at least 20 points in nine games, the Raiders offense turned things around.
After leading the NFL in running the previous season, Jacobs almost put a stop to a 13-game run without a 100-yard game. Before losing three yards on his last run, he was at 101 yards.
According to Jacobs, “the energy and vibe are just electric right now.” “I think we’ve been a unit this best yet,” the speaker said.
This week, O’Connell was given the starting nod over the unproductive Garoppolo and Brian Hoyer, and Pierce said that coming forward, it would be his responsibility. Out of 25 throws, the quarterback known as AOC completed 16.
The game couldn’t have gone any worse for the Giants. Their passing, scoring, and total offense were the lowest when they started the season.
The offense of New York had yet to score a touchdown in the first quarter of this game, and it wasn’t until early in the fourth quarter that it managed to get inside the end zone, losing 27-0 at the time.
The Giants are now 2-7, which is exactly how many defeats they had throughout the whole previous season (9-7-1, postseason appearance).
Barkley said, “Definitely sucks, but got to be a pro about it.” Can’t provide any justifications. Of course, we still have a full season ahead of us. We’re 2–7, and with everything that’s going on right now, I’m not pleased. Take off, recuperate, and get ready for the following week.
The Raiders scored the last 10 points of the half to almost eliminate any question about the result thanks to interceptions by Amik Robertson and Nate Hobbs. After thirty minutes, Las Vegas led New York 240–108 in scoring.
Hobbs said, “It’s amazing what we can accomplish when we play unified defense on the line and in the back seven and nobody gives up.” We can be a formidable force if we communicate. I definitely feel like one of the league’s top ten.
SUCCESSES
Attackers RT LBs Divine Deablo (ankle) and Luke Masterson (concussion), along with Thayer Munford (neck), were not able to participate. Marcus Peters, a cornerback for Las Vegas, exited with a knee injury. Giants overtime players Evan Neal (ankle) and Andrew Thomas (hamstring) are back from their absences. Neal had missed the first two games, while Thomas hadn’t been in a game since the start of the season. But Neal exited with an ankle injury in the fourth quarter. CB Adoree’ Jackson of New York sustained a concussion.
Next up
Giants: Next Sunday, they play the second of three games on the road against the Dallas Cowboys, who are their NFC East rivals.
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