The Las Vegas Raiders have a turnover problem, amongst many others. Their struggles taking care of the ball were on full display during a 32-13 loss to Pittsburg Steelers on Sunday. The Raiders lost two fumbles, threw an interception and had a punt blocked during the blowout.
Las Vegas has posted a league-worst minus-10 turnover differential through six games. Head coach Antonio Pierce didn't mince words about his team's turnover woes following the Steelers blowout.
“The turnover thing is embarrassing,” Pierce told the Las Vegas Review-Journal's Vincent Bonsignore. “We don’t respect the ball enough, so we don’t even deserve a chance to put ourselves into position to win… Our record is what it shows — we’re 2-4… It’s not good enough. We’re not coaching well enough, we’re not playing well enough, and we’re not detailing well enough.”
Outside of a stunning Week 2 upset win over the Baltimore Ravens, the Raiders don't have much to write home about this season. Their only other win came against the Cleveland Browns, who look like one of the NFL's worst teams. Their four losses have come against the Steelers, Los Angeles Chargers, Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers, who have posted a combined record of 11-12.
Is Antonio Pierce on his way out for the Raiders?
The Raiders were desperately looking for a spark when they fired Josh McDaniels and promoted Pierce to head coach after a 3-5 start last season. They improved to close the year, winning five of their last nine games. Pierce subsequently shed the interim label and was promoted to full-time head coach this offseason.
However, the Raiders' offensive woes have come back to bite them early this season. Las Vegas ranks 25th in yards per game (293.3) and 26th in points per game (18.2). It hasn't helped that star wide receiver Davante Adams has been sidelined by a hamstring injury amid a trade request.
Pierce looked to shake things up against Pittsburg by starting Aidan O'Connell at quarterback in place of Garner Minshew. However, O'Connell did little to jumpstart the unit, throwing for 224 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Las Vegas' ground attack was stuck in the mud, posting 57 yards on 19 carries (3.0 YPC).
The Raiders' defense has held its own against a soft schedule early this season. However, the unit looked unprepared against a Najee Harris-Justin Fields-led rushing attack as the Steelers ran 35 times for 183 yards (5.2 YPC) and three touchdowns.
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Tensions appeared to be boiling over when defensive end Maxx Crosby shoved linebackers coach Mike Caldwell after a late-game sack.
However, Crosby brushed off questions about the interaction postgame, calling it a “love push” and saying he “has a great relationship” with Caldwell.
Piece and the Raiders will look for more answers on both sides of the ball when they travel to SoFi Stadium for a Week 7 matchup with the Los Angeles Rams.
