LAS VEGAS — Antonio Pierce called it. When Las Vegas’ interim coach was asked about what he expected from the Raiders’ “Sunday Night Football” clash with the New York Jets, he couldn’t help but laugh.
“It ain’t going to be a shootout,” Pierce said Wednesday. “I can tell you that.”
Nothing about the Raiders’ 16-12 win over the Jets on Sunday was pretty, but style points don’t count in the standings. All that mattered was that Pierce’s squad came out of the defensive struggle victorious.
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“We know what type of team we have here,” running back Josh Jacobs said. “This is not a fluke. The work that we put in, I feel like it’s going to pay off.”
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The Raiders improved to 5-5 and sit second in the AFC West. Two weeks after their massive regime change, they’re back in the playoff hunt.
It’s only a two-game sample size, but the Raiders have discovered an identity under Pierce. They’ve gone from being largely rudderless to a team defined by toughness, physicality and grit.
“It’s not always going to be easy, but it shows that we’re that type of team,” receiver Davante Adams said. “We can grit it out and stay together and finish it no matter what style of ball we’re playing.”
That mentality has spread throughout the entire roster. The two players who embodied it the most against the Jets, however, were Jacobs and linebacker Robert Spillane.
For the second week in a row, Jacobs showed why Pierce calls him the heartbeat of the offense as he led the team with a grueling 27 carries for a season-high 116 yards. Through most of the first three quarters against the Jets’ vaunted defense, though, it was tough sledding for Jacobs and the Raiders offense. Without starting left tackle Kolton Miller, the offensive line struggled, quarterback Aidan O’Connell was inconsistent and interim offensive coordinator Bo Hardegree couldn’t seem to find a rhythm. The turning point came when Jacobs spoke up on the sideline early in the third quarter.
“I said, ‘(Not) everybody want(s) the burden. (Shoot), I want the burden. Put the burden on me,’” Jacobs said. “I think everybody dug down and had the same mindset to accomplish the goal that we wanted to accomplish.”
Jacobs took a pounding on his first 16 carries as he mustered just 45 yards. His desire to keep getting the ball stemmed from a conversation he had with legendary ex-Raiders running back Bo Jackson at practice earlier this week.
“He told me, ‘Man, when you run a mother—-er over, you pick ’em up and you say, All right, I’m (gonna) come back 40 seconds later,’” Jacobs said. “I tried to have that mentality today.”
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Jacobs’ persistence was key to his breakthrough, but it wouldn’t have happened if he were only one undeterred by the offense’s sluggish start. After all, it came on a run concept that the Raiders had already used four times without much success. Following a sideline conversation between Hardegree, the offensive line and Jacobs about what they were seeing from the Jets, they decided to stick with it. So, when the play was called again on a second-and-10 late in the third quarter, nobody protested.
“I feel like in the past, if something didn’t work, we would get away from it,” said Jermaine Eluemunor, who started at left tackle in Miller’s place. “With Bo, even if it doesn’t work at first, we’re still going to keep going because it’s eventually going to work. That’s the type of mentality you have to have to win.”
Before the huddle broke, right guard Greg Van Roten implored Jacobs to stay inside on the run. Van Roten was confident he and his fellow interior offensive linemen would create a lane to run through.
“Man, look, they want you to bounce outside,” Van Roten told Jacobs. “Keep it inside. Just trust it.”
After taking the handoff, Jacobs exploded up the middle and made it to the second level of the defense untouched. Then, he shrugged off an arm tackle attempt by Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner, regained his balance and stiff-armed New York safety Tony Adams into oblivion. Cornerback Michael Carter caught up to him almost simultaneously and knocked the ball free with a punch, but it bounced out of bounds to prevent Jacobs’ 40-yard gallop from going to waste.
🎱 @IAM_JoshJacobs WITH THE BREAKOUT RUN!#NYJvsLV | 📺 NBC pic.twitter.com/sxCORRr4GC
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) November 13, 2023
Three plays later, rookie tight end Michael Mayer scored the Raiders’ lone touchdown — the first of his career — on an improvised 7-yard pass from O’Connell to give them a lead they wouldn’t surrender. They might’ve, however, if it weren’t for heroics from Spillane.
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The Raiders defense had already been rolling. After allowing three consecutive field goals to start the game, the unit forced five consecutive Jets punts. And while it surrendered another field goal on the possession following Mayer’s touchdown, it still gave the offense the ball back with an opportunity to drain the clock and extend the lead in the fourth quarter.
For several minutes, it looked like the offense was set to do just that. Jacobs and company gained three first downs, drove to the Jets’ 29-yard line and had already chewed the clock down to just over six minutes. But then Jacobs fumbled again on a carry up the middle, and New York recovered.
Suddenly, Jets quarterback Zach Wilson got hot. After throwing the ball poorly all game, he ripped off eight completions for four first downs, driving the ball down to the Raiders’ 20-yard line with less than two minutes remaining, and looked like he might engineer his team’s first touchdown drive of the game.
That’s when Spillane saved the day. The linebacker dropped back into zone, read Wilson’s eyes and made a beeline for the ball as soon as he released a pass intended for Jets receiver Allen Lazard. Spillane made the interception and returned it 25 yards.
SPILLANE WITH THE PICK!!!!#NYJvsLV | 📺 NBC pic.twitter.com/JNj1wO8bpE
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) November 13, 2023
Spillane suffered a broken hand two games ago, but it hasn’t stopped him from making an impact on the Raiders’ resilient defense. Against the Jets, his impaired grip didn’t keep him from making the biggest play of the game.
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“I’m a football player,” Spillane said. “Most people think you have to play hurt, but not injured. You have to play injured. … It’s an honor and a privilege to go out there, so I never want to miss any opportunity to be on the field.”
The Raiders offense swiftly went three-and-out after Spillane’s interception, and the Jets wound up getting another shot on a Hail Mary heave from Wilson that fell incomplete as time expired. Ultimately, it was Spillane’s pick that turned away New York’s best chance to retake the lead.
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“It’s a dream come true,” Spillane said. “I pour my heart into this (game), so to be able to help my team win is a blessing.”
.@Raiders mood
📺: #NYJvsLV on NBC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/lfCP1NFAnO pic.twitter.com/U4m66E1yOo
— NFL (@NFL) November 13, 2023
Pierce’s team is confident heading into back-to-back matchups with the Dolphins (6-3) in Miami and at home against the Kansas City Chiefs (7-2). The Raiders won’t be favored in either game, but you can bet they won’t back down.
“Whatever it takes to do it for one another, they’re willing to do it,” Pierce said of his squad. “That’s what I’m proud about. It wasn’t pretty at times, but they kept battling and they believed.”
(Photo of Josh Jacobs: Stephen R. Sylvanie / USA Today)
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