LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Las Vegas Raiders have certainly had a roller coaster of a season.
They fired their head coach midway through and the future looked really dark for this team.
Bbut on the last day of the season, It was pure joy, elation, and a whole lot of cigar smoking for the Silver and Black, as they took care of their divisional foe Denver Broncos 27-14.
In the first quarter, the Raiders run a trick play with Jakobi Meyers looking to throw.
No one was open so he runs the other way and is in for the opening touchdown.
Then in the second quarter, the Broncos are deep In Raiders territory, and Jerry Jeudy must have been seeing red. He breaks tackle after tackle for the TD to tie It.
Right before the end of the half, the Raiders are In the red zone, and Aidan O'Connell throws off his back foot to Davonte Adams under pressure, and "Tae" nabs the big time catch for a 10 point lead.
O'Connell would leave the game for a bit with a finger injury but he had no issues with throwing the ball. He goes deep and finds Jakobi Meyers wide open for the touchdown and It's all Raiders.
The Broncos would score one more TD but it's too little too late.
Raiders finish the season off at 8-9.
Antonio Pierce finishes 5-4 as the interim head coach.
After the game, the players say they already feel like they have their guy for the future.
"Next year Is going to be different. It's going to be different for a lot of guys. Hopefully we keep AP and a lot of guys come back from the coaching staff. I just let them all know that It's been an honor to play with them and learn with them," Raiders Running back Josh Jacobs said.
"The fact that we've come together and done something this special In such a short time Is hard to do," Raiders Defensive End Maxx Crosby said. "You got a guy that's played at the highest level, won a Super Bowl, always been a captain, and now he's a great coach and leader. It's hard to find leaders of men."
There's a lot of decisions that the Raiders will have to make this offseason that could alter the direction of the franchise.
One thing is for certain; the players love AP.
Pierce has made his case to be the permanent coach, now we just have to wait and see.
