Pierce Breaks Down How Raiders Beat Chiefs

The Las Vegas Raiders’ 20-14 upset of the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas Day was one of the highlights of their 2023 season.

That game was a culmination of the hard work Coach Antonio Pierce put in with the team after taking over as interim head coach.

The culture Pierce created when he took over midway through the season resonated with players and fans, and likely led to owner Mark Davis giving him the full-time job.

Now that Pierce is the Raiders’ full-time head coach, he and the Raiders hope to pull off more victories against their biggest rivals.

Pierce broke down the preparation for the game and how the Raiders were able to pull off the upset on the latest episode of defensive end Maxx Crosby’s podcast, "The Rush with Maxx Crosby."

Looking back, Pierce said he showed the team videos of historical sports moments each day of the week, including UFC fights, Michael Jordan clips and boxing matches.

“When we get to the end, we have to finish them,” Pierce said, regarding the Raiders not being able to seal the deal against the Chiefs in their first game last season. The Raiders led, 14-0. but eventually lost, 31-17.

“We have to put them away. We have to put them away the way we want to put them away. If you go back to that game, we talk about that second quarter, dominating the second quarter defensively. Two touchdowns in seven seconds. They were so hyped I called a timeout just to calm us down.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m like: ‘Everybody calm down.’ I got Jack Jones over here; they’re fighting; I’m like: ‘Maxx, everybody stop.’ We called timeout just to slow the pace down because I’m like: ‘We’re going. We’re ready.’”

Pierce said the best part of the victory was how the Raiders stopped quarterback Patrick Mahomes from taking over the game in the fourth quarter.

“These guys wouldn’t let go," Pierce said. "They were relentless for 60 minutes, and then what we wanted to do is what I call the best play in football. We wanted to go into victory formation.”

To watch the full podcast episode with Pierce and Crosby, click here.

From February 27 to March 4, 2024, the NFL Scouting Combine will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind.

The NFL Draft will be held in Detroit, Mich., on April 25-27, 2024. The Las Vegas Raiders currently hold the No. 13 overall pick.

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