Coach Antonio Pierce of the Las Vegas Raiders on stopping the Kansas City Chiefs: ‘Hit ’em in the mouth

The rivalry between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs is one of the most fierce and nasty in sports. From their days as fledgling AFL teams, these now AFC West division opponents have never been friends. On Christmas Day in Kansas City, the two will meet for the 129th time.

The Chiefs have won six straight games against the Raiders and ten of the last eleven meetings. The Raiders last defeated the Chiefs in Kansas City in 2020, with then-coach John Gruden celebrating with a lap around Arrowhead Stadium on his way out of town. That, of course, irritated the Chiefs, who had not previously lost to the Raiders.

Some of the bad blood returned last year during Josh McDaniels’ first full season as head coach, when the Chiefs, who went on to beat the Raiders 31-13 in Las Vegas in Week 17, humiliated the Raiders by performing a “ring-around-the-rosie” play on the Raiders’ home field.

When questioned about the Chiefs’ trick plays, interim head coach Antonio Pierce stated there is just one way to stop them.

“We saw the ring around the rosie deal they did last year.” “It’s all in good fun,” Pierce added. “But, at some point, the best way to stop a trick play is to do what?” “Hit ’em in the mouth.”

Las Vegas Raiders defense faces test vs. Kansas City Chiefs

For all their struggles in 2023, the Chiefs still present a formidable threat to a much-improved Raiders defense that is 10th in the NFL in scoring and seems to have found its identity in the weeks since Pierce took over. With young players like Divine Deablo and Malcolm Koonce developing into top contributors, the Raiders defense is no longer just the Maxx Crosby show.

Pierce knows the Raiders defense, and players like Deablo, Koonce and first-round pick Tyree Wilson, need to have another big performance against Kansas City to shut down quarterback Patrick Mahomes and whatever gadget plays Andy Reid dreams up.

“Every time you think you’ve seen one, you’ve seen it all, and here comes another one. They’re creative, they have fun doing it,” Pierce said. “That’s good. But obviously at the end of the day, you got to do your job, right? So, most of the time where those trick plays come from? Fringe, red zone, near the goal line. So, I mean, come on, we’re alerted to it already. We saw it last time we played them they ran the ball, and we don’t want that to happen. If they don’t run it in, then here comes the gadgets.”

Pierce, having grown up a Raiders fan, knows the importance of the rivalry with the Chiefs but also recognizes the game matters — for him, for his team, and the fans. There’s no doubt he wants to, if allowed to earn the job full-time, bring back the Raider’s mystique of old. When asked what he defined Raiders football as, in the scope of culture and style of play, Pierce pulled no punches where he thinks his team is on that scale.

“I see a certain physicality and nastiness of how they play not just on defense but throughout,” Pierce said. “I see a group that does not apologize, and that regardless of what the outcome is, you know that you poured your heart out on that field. And have we done that? At times. At times. I don’t think it’s something that you just hit a switch, or a new coach comes in, or a new player comes. It takes time to build. Most winning organizations take time to build, the problem is you don’t have a lot of time.”