Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce did not hold back when discussing the level of effort from certain players during Sunday’s humiliating 36-22 loss to the Carolina Panthers.
Carolina entered the week 0-2 with a -60 point differential after two games and recently benched second-year quarterback Bryce Young. However, that didn’t stop Andy Dalton from helping his team put up 437 yards against a porous Raiders defense.
“I think as the game went on, I don’t think it was the team. I think there was definitely some individuals that made business decisions,” Pierce bluntly told the gathering press. “And we’ll make business decisions going forward, as well.”
Dalton, once known as the “Red Rifle” for his gunslinging ability, completed 26 of his 37 passes for 318 yards and three touchdowns in the blowout victory. Running back Chuba Hubbard added 114 yards, his most since Christmas Eve of 2022.
Through the first two weeks of the 2024 NFL season, the Panthers only mustered 352 yards of total offense. Whether it was the inclusion of Dalton or the fragility of the Raiders’ defense, everything changed for Carolina on Sunday.
One reason was the generally-stuff Panthers offensive line was able to keep Raiders star Maxx Crosby quiet. The defensive end was held without a sack or a TFL for the first time this season.
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The Raiders struggled on the other side of the football as well. Quarterback Gardner Minshew was benched in the fourth quarter despite completing 18 of 28 passes for 214 yards and a touchdown.
Veteran receiver Davante Adams was held to just four catches for 40 yards and looked visibly disappointed as his team exited for halftime to a chorus of boos from the home crowd.
“The scheme wasn’t good enough,” Pierce said. “The design of the plays wasn’t good enough today, what we thought was going to work didn’t work and on the grass we didn’t execute. Nor did we put forth the effort, to me, that we put up in games past.”
Pierce was named interim head coach midway through the 2023 season and earned the full-time gig after going 5-4 with a signature 20-14 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
His 1-2 Raiders will host 1-2 Cleveland Browns next week at Allegiant Stadium in a matchup of two teams in jeopardy of watching their season slop away.
Dalton and the Panthers will host his old team, the Cincinnati Bengals, in a matchup of old (Dalton) versus new (Burrow).
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