Antonio Pierce explains his bizarre punt decision

Nov 12, 2023; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders interim head coach Antonio Pierce enters the field for warm up against the New York Jets at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports

The Las Vegas Raiders may have blown their best chance to win thanks to a strange punt decision by head coach Antonio Pierce.

The Raiders were trailing 16-10, but had a 4th and 1 at the Chargers’ 43-yard line with 7:15 to go in the fourth quarter at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. This would seem like an obvious situation in which to go for it, but Pierce opted to punt and try to pin the Chargers back.

According to the popular “surrender index” metric, which charts the most “cowardly” punts dating back several decades, Pierce’s decision ranked in an 99.9th percentile of all punts since 1999 in terms of cowardliness.

Pierce did not seem to regret the decision after the game. He said he was simply trying to win the battle of field position, and pointed out that the ensuing punt did pin the Chargers back at their own 8-yard line.

“We considered going for it,” Pierce said. “It’s a long one, and we got stopped earlier in the game. The punter had done a good job pinning those guys back, he had two or three punts inside the 20. Defense was a strength for the most part. Keep them backed up with three timeouts.”

Pierce’s logic makes some sense, but the game situation had to be considered. With seven minutes left, it was fair to question whether the Raiders were going to get another opportunity like that, especially since they needed a touchdown and not just a field goal. Even if the Raiders went for it and failed, the Chargers still would have taken over on their own side of the field, and Las Vegas still would have had three timeouts. In fact, if Pierce had that much faith in his defense, that only reinforces the notion that he should have gone for it.

The Chargers went 92 yards on the ensuing drive and scored a touchdown to put the game out of reach. Credit to Pierce for sticking to his guns, but this just looks like a mistake that many people first-guessed, especially coming from a coach who has not been shy about trying to be aggressive.

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