Beyond the door of the locker 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 following Las Vegas’ 30-6 victory over the New York Giants on Sunday. This is just the latest evidence that things have changed.
In his first game as Las Vegas’ temporary head coach, Antonio Pierce prevailed while Josh Jacobs ran for 98 yards and two touchdowns. Rookie Aidan O’Connell passed 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 gave up almost as many points in a single day to the Raiders as it did in the three games prior put together (34).
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 passed for 175 yards and a touchdown. On 16 carries, Saquon Barkley gained 90 yards through 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 fired.
The outcome could not have gone any better for the Raiders, who tied for the sixth-largest lead when not conceding a point at halftime with a 24-0 lead.
Under McDaniels’ strict leadership, the team performed well, but Pierce, the former linebacker for the Giants, seemed to have more ease in the locker room this week. Would that translate on the field was the question.
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 rushed for a career-high 86 yards by halftime.
Three weeks prior, against the New England Patriots, Las Vegas’ previous high was 21 points, with the final 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 rushing the previous season, Jacobs almost put an end to a 13-game run without a 100-yard game. Before losing three yards on his last carry, he was at 101 yards.
This week, O’Connell was given the starting nod over the unproductive Garoppolo and Brian Hoyer, and Pierce stated that going forward, that would be his responsibility. Out of 25 passes, the quarterback known as AOC completed 16.
The game couldn’t have gone much 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, trailing 27-0 at the time.
The Giants have already lost more games (2-7) than they did the entire previous season (9-7-1, playoff appearance).
The Raiders scored the last 10 points of the half to virtually eliminate any doubt about the result thanks to interceptions by Amik Robertson and Nate Hobbs. After thirty minutes, Las Vegas led New York 240–108 in scoring.