The Las Vegas Raiders completed their end of season drive with a win over division rivals Denver 27-14.
The Raiders have been on a tear of late, as interim head coach Antonio Pierce has energised their base and had everyone believing they could even make the playoffs until last week. The crowd were chanting “AP” and it was clear everyone was on the same page.
“Why wouldn’t we keep going the direction we’re going?” Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby said. “The fact we’ve come together and done something special in such a short time is hard to do. We’ve got a guy who’s played at the highest level, won a Super Bowl, he’s been a captain, and now he’s a great coach and he’s a leader.”
Raiders with tough decision to make
It seems a done deal that the Raiders will hire Pierce, whose 5-4 record belies the massive improvement in performances. “I was having fun as the linebacker coach,” Pierce said. “That was cool, right? But it is really cool being the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. It’s really cool being in front of a room with men who buy in and believe what you’re telling, what you’re saying, how to do things.
“I love football, man. I said before it’s my first love. Football never cheated on me. It doesn’t talk back to me. It’s always there.”
The Broncos will be dealing with the fallout from the Russell Wilson saga over the off-season. It was somewhat ironic that Broncos head coach Sean Payton suddenly seems to understand the team wide problems now that he has Jarrett Stidham at QB.
“I thought we lost in a lot of areas tonight,” Payton said. “I felt like they ran it better than us. They protected better than us. Our quarterback was under a lot more duress than theirs. You can point to a number of things.”
 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Downs | 17 | 22 |
| Passing 1st downs | 12 | 12 |
| Rushing 1st downs | 5 | 10 |
| 1st downs from penalties | 0 | 0 |
| 3rd down efficiency | 4-12 | 7-13 |
| 4th down efficiency | 2-3 | 0-0 |
| Total Plays | 59 | 66 |
| Total Yards | 286 | 359 |
| Total Drives | 10 | 10 |
| Yards per Play | 4.8 | 5.4 |
| Passing | 238 | 230 |
| Comp-Att | 20-34 | 20-32 |
| Yards per pass | 6.1 | 6.6 |
| Interceptions thrown | 1 | 0 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost | 5-34 | 3-14 |
| Rushing | 48 | 129 |
| Rushing Attempts | 20 | 31 |
| Yards per rush | 2.4 | 4.2 |
| Red Zone (Made-Att) | 2-2 | 2-3 |
| Penalties | 4-35 | 0-0 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
| Fumbles lost | 0 | 0 |
| Interceptions thrown | 1 | 0 |
| Defensive / Special Teams TDs | 0 | 0 |
| Possession | 29:24 | 30:36 |
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