The Las Vegas Raiders were in a one-score game with the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, and they had the chance to try and put some points on the board. It came down to a fourth-and-1 situation with 7:10 left where head coach Antonio Pierce decided to punt instead of go for it. Though the punt landed on the Chargers' eight-yard line, they still drove down 93 yards and scored a touchdown, ultimately ruining the Raiders' chances of winning the game.
Davante Adams, one of the best receivers in football, had his thoughts about the play after the game, but it wasn't to defend the decision. Adams finished the game with 59 receiving yards, but there's a possibility he could've helped the Raiders get that first down if they needed it.
“I mean, my job is to run routes and do what's called,” Adams said. “I don't really get into that.”
Quarterback Gardner Minshew, who finished with 257 yards and a touchdown, also shared his thoughts about Pierce's decision to punt the ball.
“That's Coach's decision,” Minshew said. “But I think anybody that's a ballplayer wants the ball in their hands with the opportunity to help the team.”
Antonio Pierce defends decision for Raiders to punt the ball
When Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce decided to punt the ball in the fourth quarter, their win probability went from 24.8% if they went for it to 19.1% with the punt, according to ESPN analytics. Pierce said after the game that they considered going for it.
The Raiders got the punt they wanted, but the hopes of them winning went down when Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins got loose for a 61-yard play.
“We got what we wanted,” Pierce said. “We got them backed up. We had three timeouts. If you play good football, you get the ball … on offense at midfield, hopefully. But they broke off a long run, and that was the end of it.”
The Raiders' inability to convert most of their third-down situations earlier in the game may have led Pierce to punt the ball in that crucial situation. The Raiders also went for a fourth-and-one in the first quarter, but running back Zamir White was stuffed for a one-yard loss.
“We got stopped earlier in the game,” Pierce said. “Momentum (plays a factor). The punter had done a good job pinning those guys back. I think we had three punts inside the 20. Again, the defense was the strength for the most part in the game. We kept them backed up with three timeouts.”
Pierce will have many more chances throughout the season to make decisions like this again, and with how this game went, he'll probably make the decision to go for it on fourth down next time.
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