Antonio Pierce slammed for Raiders punting decision: ‘Dumbest thing you will see all season’

Antonio Pierce’s honeymoon phase as the Raiders’ full-time head coach didn’t last long.

Pierce was skewered for deciding to punt on fourth-and-1 halfway through the fourth quarter in the Raiders’ 22-10 loss to the Chargers in their Week 1 opener on Sunday.

Las Vegas trailed 16-10 at the time and was on the Chargers’ 43-yard-line after taking the ball over at midfield.

The Raiders pinned the Chargers down at the 8-yard-line in what had been a game mostly dominated by defense.

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However, the decision backfired when Los Angeles marched 92 yards for a touchdown — highlighted by a 61-yard run by JK Dobbins — to seal the victory in Jim Harbaugh’s debut.

“We considered going for it,” Pierce told reporters after the game. “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.”

It’s safe to say the analytics community did not agree with this logic.

“The Raiders are valued at $6.2 BILLION, Absolutely inexcusable not to pay a math/modeling wizard to be in Antonio Pierce’s ear. Simply tell him punt, or go for it,” wrote Adam Levitan of Establish the Run.

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“ESPN Analytics strongly disagreed with Antonio Pierce decision to punt on 4th-and-1 in Chargers territory.” ESPN reporter Paul Guttierez wrote.

“(Winning percentage) Go: 24.8% ( +5.7% ) WP Punt: 19.1%

“The Raiders are the 1st team to punt in opposing territory when trailing by 1 score in the 4th quarter on 4th-and-1 since 2016 (Bills).”

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Timo Riske of Pro Football Focus summed up the situation more bluntly : “This is the dumbest thing you will see all season, trust me.”

Pierce, a former Giants linebacker, landed the full-time job in Las Vegas after leading the team to a 5-4 record last season after taking over for the fired Josh McDaniels.

“That’s coach’s decision,” quarterback Gardner Minshew said of the decision, per ESPN. “But I think anybody that’s a ballplayer wants the ball in their hands with the opportunity to help the team.”

The Raiders head to Baltimore to take on the Ravens in Week 2 at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

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