Earlier this week, Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce stated that the Raiders' moves this offseason were to put themselves in a position to better compete with the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs have won the division the previous eight seasons in a row.
Over the offseason, Pierce mentioned that he planned on implementing a new mindset with his team when facing Mahomes and the Chiefs. He stated he wanted to play a physical brand of football when facing Mahomes, saying: "We've got the Jordan rules and what I'm calling, from now on as long as I'm here, the Patrick Mahomes rules."
"So, you remember when Jordan was going through it with the Pistons, all those guys in the '80s; before he became Michael Jordan, Air Jordan, the [Detroit] Pistons used to whup his ass.
“Any time he came to the hole? Elbows, feeling him, love taps. We touched him. We're in the head, mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually. I'm touching you. So, I showed those guys Jordan getting his ass whupped."
The 2-5 Raiders will play Mahomes and the undefeated Chiefs twice in about a month. When asked about his plans on implementing the rules he spoke about over the summer, Pierce jokingly responded, “I said that when? We're leaving it in the past, man. 2024. Leave it in the past.”
While Pierce may have been a little overzealous in his comments this offseason, the Raiders are still the last team to beat the Chiefs. Kansas City has won 12 consecutive games since losing to the Raiders on Christmas Day last season. The Raiders are banged up, especially on defense. However, part of the reason they beat the Chiefs so resoundingly last season is how well they played on defense.
In the Christmas Day win, the Raiders did not complete a pass after the first quarter. It was undoubtedly a win led by the defense. The unit forced Mahomes and the Chiefs into turnovers that were returned for touchdowns on consecutive drives. They also sacked Mahomes four times.
Now fully entrenched as the team's head coach and not wanting to add fuel to the fire, Pierce wisely tiptoed around his earlier comments. However, while they respect him, none of the players on the Raiders defense is intimidated by Mahomes.
Whether they are called the Mahomes Rules or something else, the Raiders must do something differently than they have done this season if they hope to beat the last unbeaten team in the National Football League this season.
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