When you have a team meeting and air your grievances against your head coach, and that coach gets fired shortly after, you better be ready to play on Sunday.
The Las Vegas Raiders looked like they were reborn, just days after Josh McDaniels was fired.
The invaders cleaned the house. They fired their head coach and general manager, Dave Ziegler, and their quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, one of the only times you’ll find a team making mid-season changes at the franchise’s three most important spots. It worked for at least one week.
Las Vegas destroyed the New York Giants 30-6. The game has never been competitive. The Raiders looked like a team that was hoping their recently fired and unpopular coach would be watching them at home.
Reds players and Even the coaches are told McDaniels lashed out in what would become an infamous team meeting. Their performance on Sunday was a direct message to their fired coach.
The Raiders are playing very well against the Giants
Players who were having terrible seasons with McDaniels turned things around. Josh Jacobs had two touchdowns in the first half. Hunter Renfrow, who was all but forgotten after McDaniels was hired, has resurfaced with a few catches. Rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell, who McDaniels passed over for the start for veteran Brian Hoyer two weeks ago, has been razor sharp. The Raiders looked like a completely different team.
A lot of that has to do with the Giants, who are terribly following Brian Daboll’s first season as head coach. It didn’t help that Daniel Jones left the game with a knee injury and Tommy DeVito had to replace him. It’s hard to believe the Giants watched DeVito pass -1 yards last week after entering the game midway through the second quarter, placing Tyrod Taylor on injured reserve and not adding a better backup option, but that’s what happened.
Jones’ injury doesn’t explain why the Giants’ defense is on fire. Rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell was 9 of 10 for 135 yards in the first half. Jacobs had 85 yards rushing in the first half. He hadn’t pitched more than 77 in a complete game all season before Sunday.
The Raiders had never scored more than 21 points in a game all season before Sunday. They had 24 points in the first half. This reflects poorly on the Giants. Perhaps it’s more than just an indictment of McDaniels.
Antonio Pearce gets the first win
In 2021, the Raiders turned to Rich Bisaccia as their interim coach after firing Jon Gruden under controversial circumstances. Bisaccia led the Raiders to the playoffs. Instead of seeing if he could continue that momentum, Raiders owner Mark Davis needed a brighter, shinier game and made the terrible decision to hire McDaniels.
That should be on Davis’ mind as he watches interim coach Antonio Pierce through the second half of the season. Who knows where the Raiders’ season is headed, but it’s a job interview for Pierce.
The Raiders continued to roll in the second half against the Giants. They led by 27 points, and Fox said that was their largest lead in a game since Week 2 of the 2017 season. DeVito finally completed some passes and the Giants scored to spoil the Raiders’ shutout. But it was still the most dominant performance the Raiders have had in a long time. It was perhaps no coincidence that it came right after they got rid of a coach who had lost the locker room, just as he did in his first coaching stint with the Denver Broncos more than a decade ago.
Reds 4-5. It will be difficult for them to reach the playoffs, but it is not impossible. Either way, it looks like they’re going to have a lot of fun the rest of the season.