Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce did not mince his words when asked how is framing his 2-9 team’s upcoming Black Friday matchup against the 10-1 Kansas City Chiefs.
“Let’s call a spade a spade, [it’s] the best team in football against the worst team in football,” Pierce admitted to a pool of reporters on Friday.
However, he expressed optimism in his team’s ability to turn it around against Kansas City. “Let’s change the narrative, right?” the Raiders coach continued. “Let’s just go out there, make it a dog fight, make it ugly, make it scrappy. It’s Black Friday; let’s create a little chaos. Get back to Raider football and have some fun and [show] some personality and let it loose.”
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The Raiders enter Friday’s matchup on a seven-game losing streak following last Sunday’s 27-17 competitive loss to a strong Denver Broncos side. To make matters worse, Pierce’s team will be without starting quarterback Gardner Minshew for the rest of the season after the veteran suffered a broken collarbone.
Aiden O’Connell is slated to start against the Chiefs. The second-year player hasn’t played since October 22 due to a broken thumb.
O’Connell will have the benefit of playing with the red-hot duo of Jacobi Meyers and Brock Bowers. Meyers hauled in 10 passes for 131 yards against the Broncos on Sunday.
2023 fifth-round pick Aidan O’Connell, nicknamed ‘AOC,’ is slated to start against the Chiefs on Friday (
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Bowers is in contention to earn First-team All-Pro honors at tight as a rookie. He ranks second in the entire NFL with 74 receptions and leads all tight ends in receiving yards.
However, O’Connell will have to play behind a struggling offensive line that shipped five sacks against the Broncos’ pass-rush. Pierce was still confident in his young signal caller and provided an update on O’Connell’s health.
“Aidan’s looking good,” Pierce revealed. “We’ll throw the ball a little bit today in practice, but he’s done good over the last two days with some walk-throughs and, obviously, [practicing] indoors, but we’ll see how it looks today.”
“We feel good about Aidan,” he continued. “He’s been dialed in, obviously, throughout this time that he’s been on IR. He’s done all the meetings. He’s been very encouraging on the sideline. He’s got that laser-eye focus right now. Great opportunity for him.”
If the season ended today, the Raiders would select second in a 2025 NFL Draft stocked full of interesting quarterback talent. Owner Mark Davis will likely look to opt for a new long-term signal-caller if his team remains uncompetitive.
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