REPORT: Harbaugh Reacts to Raiders' Pierce's Punt Decision

Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh was not surprised at Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce's decision to punt the ball in the fourth quarter, a decision that raised many eyebrows.

Sep 8, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce reacts in the first half against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Las Vegas Raiders trailed the Los Angeles Chargers, 16-10, with 7 minutes left in the fourth quarter. 

A Gardner Minshew pass to Alexander Mattison came up short of the line to gain. 

Fourth-and-1. 

No matter, the Raiders were on the Chargers’ 43-yard line. They needed just one yard to keep the drive going — one measly yard to continue a potentially go-ahead drive. 

Coach Antonio Pierce could have called on Zamir White to make up for his previous fumble. He could have called an end-around to Tre Tucker. He had countless possibilities at his disposal to pick up just one yard in enemy territory to stay alive in the game. 

Instead, Pierce sent the punt unit out. 

AJ Cole uncorked an excellent punt — as he often does — that landed inside the Chargers’ 10-yard line. As Pierce said after the game, the Raiders got what they wanted from the punt. 

“We got them backed up, got three timeouts, play good football, get the ball back, and then ‘half-court’ as we call it offense, midfield, hopefully, but they broke off a long run, and that was the end of it,” Pierce said on why he decided to punt. 

The football world was confused by Pierce’s decision to punt when he could have picked up a yard and continued the drive. 

But Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh was not surprised. He said as much during his post-game press conference on Sunday evening. 

"Wasn't surprised," he said. "I mean, probably the stop we got early in the game maybe played into that...I'm sure they felt our offense wasn't moving the ball, we had a lot of three-and-outs in this game."

Harbaugh has coached many successful football teams during his career. He also answered honestly about how his offense was playing. It wasn't moving the ball much before that drive, on which it went 92 yards to score a touchdown and seal the deal. 

The Raiders’ offense struggled mightily throughout the game, scoring its only touchdown on a long screen pass from Alexander Mattison. Davante Adams helped the Raiders move the ball, but it was not enough, as they could not capitalize on his game. 

Pierce and the Raiders cannot waste opportunities to sustain drives when they are presented with them. They play an excellent defense in the Baltimore Ravens this upcoming Sunday, and opportunities like that will not come around often.

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