Raiders Faced a Similar Situation in 2021 and Shined
The Las Vegas Raiders will come out of their bye this week to play the Minnesota Vikings next Sunday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, the first of five games remaining in the regular season that the Silver and Black hope will help them land a spot in the National Football League playoffs.
The Raiders (5-7), who are 2-2 under Interim Coach Antonio Pierce, might need to win all five games, or at least four, to reach the post-season.
“I’m racing time now,” said Pierce, who hopes to have the interim tag removed from his title after this season. “The clock is ticking. It’s almost over. I get it. But the best part about it is I know whenever this is over, I’ve gotten better.
"I’ve got five weeks to get it right. If I don’t get it right, I have a lot more time off -- 52 weeks. I can do the math.”
The Rich Bisaccia-led Las Vegas Raiders had everyone smiling during their improbably 2021 NFL Playoff run.
© Stephen R. Sylvanie | 2022 Jan 9
The Raiders faced a similar situation two seasons ago, when they were 6-6 with five games remaining in the regular season under an interim coach -- Rich Bisaccia.
The Kansas City Chiefs routed the Raiders, 48-9, in the first of those five games at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, as quarterback Patrick Mahomes passed for 258 yards and two touchdowns while running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire ran for two scores.
However, the Raiders turned things around after that.
Quarterback Derek Carr passed for 236 yards and a touchdown. At the same time, Daniel Carlson kicked three field goals, including a 48-yarder as time expired, as the Silver and Black pulled out a 16-14 victory over the Cleveland Browns at First Energy Stadium in Cleveland, and the Raiders were 7-7.
Then, running back Peyton Barber ran five yards for a touchdown, and Carlson kicked a 41-yard field goal as the Raiders overcame a six-point deficit in the second half to defeat the Denver Broncos (7-8), one of their rivals for a playoff spot, 17-13, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
The Raiders were 8-7 before Carr passed for 255 yards and a touchdown while running back Josh Jacobs ran for 63 yards and a score before Carlson’s third field goal of the game on the final play of regulation time provided a 23-20 victory over the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
In the final game of the regular season, Carr passed for 186 yards and two touchdowns to wide receiver Hunter Renfrow, while Jacobs rushed for 136 yards and a score. Still, the Raiders needed Carlson’s third and fourth field goals in overtime from 41 and 47 yards to down the Los Angeles Chargers (9-8), 35-32, at Allegiant Stadium.
“We locked the doors every day on Monday, and the people who were inside that building didn’t stop believing, and it showed today,” Carr said after that game.
The Raiders (10-7) had won their last four games by a total of 12 points to make the playoffs, where, unfortunately, they lost to the Cincinnati Bengals, 26-19, in an AFC Divisional playoff game at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati.
“There’s nothing against us winning five in a row and sneaking into the playoffs,” Renfrow said this week. “That’s kind of the goal, and I’m hoping everyone in this locker room kind of has that at the back of their mind this whole bye week. New team, same dream.
“We have a special group, and we believe in each other. And I'd go to war with any of these guys any day.
Of course, during the offseason two years ago, owner Mark Davis made the unpopular move of replacing the well-liked Bissacia with new Coach Josh McDaniels, and we all know how that turned out.
Bissacia posted a 7-5 record after Coach Jon resigned following an email scandal.
Raider Nation is hoping for a different outcome this season, all the way around.
The Silver and Black will return home to Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas to take on the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, December 10, at 4:05 p.m. EST/1:05 p.m. PST.
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