Antonio Pierce calls out Raiders for lack of effort in loss to Panthers

National Football League

Published Sep. 22, 2024 10:28 p.m. ET

One week after his team overcame a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit to win at Baltimore, Las Vegas coach Antonio Pierce called out the Raiders for a lack of effort in their home opener.

“As the game went on,” Pierce said, “I think there was definitely some individuals that made business decisions. And we’ll make business decisions going forward as well.”

The previously winless and seemingly dysfunctional Carolina Panthers took a 14-point lead into halftime and never looked back as they cruised to a 36-22 victory on Sunday. The Raiders (1-2) lost for the 59th consecutive time when trailing by 14 or more at halftime, according to Stathead.

“It’s poor, it’s just not good enough,” Pierce said. “The crowd was ready. I appreciate the crowd, (and) everybody showing up, they did their part — we did not.

“We got our (butt) whooped.”

Las Vegas, which never led, allowed more than 21 points twice in nine games after Pierce took over as interim coach last season. The Raiders, who are now 17-18 at Allegiant Stadium, have allowed more than 21 points in all three games this year with Pierce as the full-time coach.

The Raiders allowed the Panthers to score on eight of their 11 drives, not including a final series where the Panthers kneeled down. They’ve allowed opponents to score on 45.9% (17 of 37) of their drives this season.

Before Week 1, Pierce stressed fast starts. Yet the Raiders have trailed at halftime in each of their first three games while showing inefficiencies on both sides of the ball.

“It’s just the lack of the details on some of the small stuff that we coach every day, that we try to work every day,” safety Tre’von Moehrig said. “Got to get back in there tomorrow and get back to the fundamentals and the basics of what we know how to do.”

Las Vegas came into the game having allowed the league’s fifth-most rushing yards and second-most yards per attempt. But the Panthers attacked the Raiders through the air, with veteran Andy Dalton throwing for 319 yards and three touchdowns.

The Raiders figured to be battle-tested after going against Justin Herbert of the Chargers and MVP Lamar Jackson of the Ravens in the first two weeks of the season and then facing a 36-year-old who hadn’t started since Week 3 of last season.

But Dalton — who replaced the benched Bryce Young — torched a Raiders defense that failed to generate pressure consistently, allowed far too much space for Carolina’s receivers and struggled with poor communication on certain defensive schemes.

All nine of Carolina’s plays that went for 15 or more yards were through the air.

The Raiders also came into Week 3 having committed a league-low five penalties but were whistled for six infractions against Carolina for 54 yards.

On offense, Las Vegas went 3 for 11 on third down. The Raiders only had one turnover but still possessed the ball for a season-low 23:58.

“The way we came in against the Baltimore Ravens, underdogs, that’s how they came and attacked us, simple as that,” cornerback Nate Hobbs said. “We wasn’t focused enough on our job. We didn’t strain harder than them. They strained harder than us. They came out there with a purpose. We came out there thinking we were gonna have the upper hand for no reason.

[Related: What We Learned in NFL Week 3]

“There’s a lot of people who were locked in. There’s a lot of guys on our team who did their job. I feel like I had a couple of plays I didn’t do my job. I wasn’t focused enough and I’m putting that on me. There’s a lot of guys who did do their job. But it don’t work if all 11 aren’t constantly doing it. You’re gonna miss a play here and there, but you got to make more than you don’t.”

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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