Antonio Pierce’s first game as interim head coach of the Raiders couldn’t have gone much better.
The Raiders scored on their first possession and took a 27-0 lead in the third quarter before squeezing out a 30-6 win over the Giants. Pierce took over his new position after the Raiders fired Josh McDaniels eight games into his second season on the job.
Jacoby Myers put the Raiders on the board with a 17-yard run in the first quarter and Josh Jacobs ran 26 times for 98 yards and two more touchdowns as the Raiders raced to their big lead. Rookie Aidan O’Connell replaced Jimmy Garoppolo as the starting quarterback once Pierce took over and went 16 of 25 for 209 yards.
Wide receiver Davante Adams was targeted on seven of those passes and had four catches for 34 yards the following week He aired his frustration About getting one shot at the Raiders losing to the Lions. He said this week that he believes it’s time for the team to make a change when asked about firing McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler because he believes the team needs something to jumpstart the season.
They seemed to find him on Sunday, and that’s been the case for a lot of the Giants’ opponents this season. They are now 2-7 and saw starting quarterback Daniel Jones leave the game with a knee injury on the first play of the second quarter. Jones has missed the previous three games with a neck injury and another extended absence will do little to keep the Giants competitive through the second half of the season.
Right tackle Evan Neal also left the game with a left ankle injury. He returned Sunday after missing two games with a right ankle injury, so it was a bad day for many members of the offense.
They’ll be in Dallas next weekend trying to avoid a repeat of the 40-0 win over the Cowboys in Week 1. Pierce and the Raiders will face the Jets next Sunday night in Las Vegas.
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