Graney: Raiders coach stumbles in 1st game as full-time boss

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Raiders coach Antonio Pierce did an in-game television interview following the first quarter of his team’s season opener Sunday.

He was was asked about his squad not converting a fourth-and-1 from its own 41-yard against the Chargers at SoFi Stadium, only to come back and score a touchdown the next series.

“I just like how they responded,” Pierce said. “We said we were going to be aggressive in the first quarter. Sometimes you make plays, sometimes you don’t. But you believe in your guys, and the next (drive) they went out and made plays.”

He sure didn’t seem to believe in them when it counted most.

Pierce wasn’t aggressive when he needed to be. Didn’t let his guys have a chance.

There is no more interim tag. Pierce is the Raiders’ full-time coach now and must own some of his (highly) questionable decisions in Sunday’s 22-10 loss.

And there was more than one.

Still conservative

This was by far the worst: The Chargers held a 16-10 lead with 7:15 remaining when the Raiders faced a fourth-and-1 from the Los Angeles 43-yard line.

A team in that position — trailing by eight or fewer points and facing a fourth-and-1 in plus territory in the fourth quarter —hasn’t punted the ball in the past eight NFL seasons.

Read that part again. Not. In. Eight. NFL. Seasons.

Pierce — the league’s most conservative coach after taking over the Raiders eight games into last season— opted to punt. He hasn’t learned much.

“I mean, we got what we wanted, we have them backed up (at their 8-yard line) with three timeouts,” Pierce said.

The Chargers got a 61-yard run from running back J.K. Dobbins on their fifth play after the punt. They scored a touchdown three plays later to ice things.

Sorry. It’s not as if the Raiders spent an entire day in plus-territory. They struggled all afternoon to find a consistent offensive rhythm. They reached the red zone just once.

This is supposedly why Pierce added some experience to his staff this offseason. For these kinds of calls.

Did they all miss on this one?

Did anyone think punting was a bad idea? If so, give that guy a raise.

You have to go for it on fourth-and-1 down six in that situation. You can’t, given how the the offense had performed to that point, count on sustaining drives.

“We considered going for it,” Pierce said. “It was a long one (yard). We got stopped earlier in the game. The momentum. Punter had done a good job pinning those guys back. … Again, our defense was our strength for most of the game. Keep them backed up with our three timeouts.”

More context: The Raiders’ expected win percentage was 19.1 with the punt.

It would have been 24.8 if they went for it.

“That’s the coach’s decision,” quarterback Gardner Minshew said. “But I think anybody who’s a ballplayer wants the ball in their hands.”

Another one

There was also a fourth-and-1 call from the Chargers’ 14-yard line early in the fourth quarter. The Raiders trailed 16-7 and opted to kick a 32-yard field goal. Sure. They needed three points eventually, but could they count on the offense coming that close to the end zone again?

The Raiders finished with one rushing first down all game. They couldn’t run a lick. They needed to try to score a touchdown that drive.

Hindsight is just that. But this is Pierce’s world now. This is his reality. There is no more interim tag. And when it came time to make important decisions Sunday, he made some bizarre ones.

Wasn’t aggressive when he absolutely needed to be.

Needed to believe more in his guys.

Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on X.