Las Vegas Raiders’ Antonio Pierce Bringing 80s NBA To NFL

Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce has brought some toughness back to the silver and black that had been missing in recent seasons. The team responded to him when he was named the interim head coach in place of Josh McDaniels during the 2023 season and was eventually given the full-time job earlier this offseason.

One of the things ownership had to be pleased with was that Pierce led the Raiders to a victory over the Kansas City Chiefs late in the season. On Christmas Day, Las Vegas went into GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium and picked up an impressive 20-14 victory.

The win not only kept their slim playoff hopes alive but showed that the Raiders were capable of hanging with any team in the league, even the eventual Super Bowl champions. Most impressively, they picked up the victory with quarterback Aidan O’Connell not completing a pass after the first quarter.

How did Las Vegas manage to snag a victory despite that? As Pierce shared during a recent appearance on Maxx Crobsy’s podcast “The Rush”, the Raiders adapted some old-school NBA tactics.

Back in the day, the Detroit Pistons garnered a reputation for their physicality, being deemed the Bad Boys. They had their own set of rules when facing off against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls to play by, which kept Jordan from finding success early on in his career.

Pierce has taken that same approach to the NFL when it comes to stopping the Chiefs’ star quarterback, Patrick Mahomes. During his appearance on the podcast, Pierce discussed how he got his guys ready with his version of The Jordan Rules for Mahomes.

“We’ve got the Jordan rules and what I’m calling from now on as long as I’m here, the Patrick Mahomes rules,” Pierce said on the podcast. “So, you remember when Jordan was going through it with the Pistons, all those guys in the ’80s before he became Michael Jordan, Air Jordan, the Pistons used to whoop his a--. Any time he came to the hole? Elbows, feeling him, love taps. We touched him. We’re in the head, mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, I’m touching you. So, I showed those guys Jordan getting his a-- whooped.” (H/T ESPN)

Pierce said that his Raiders provided the rest of the NFL ‘the recipe’ for slowing down the Chiefs. However, the ingredients they had, such as star pass rusher Maxx Crosby, are not something every team possesses.

That was evident as Kansas City went on a tear for the remainder of the season. Christmas Day against the Raiders was the last time they lost, as they went on to win their second straight Super Bowl ring.

With Pierce and his Raiders looking to prove they belong in the AFC, this is a budding rivalry. Kansas City has been challenged in the AFC West in a long time, but Las Vegas is looking to change that with their Mahomes Rules.