Pierce: Raiders must 'clean up' playcalling, offensive issues

HENDERSON, Nev. -- ThoughLas Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said Wednesday he is comfortable with Luke Getsy as the team's offensive coordinator and playcaller, Pierce also acknowledged that something has to change ahead of this weekend's matchup with the Bengals (3-5) in Cincinnati.

Especially after the Raiders, who are just 2-6 on the season and mired in their first four-game losing streak since 2019, averaged less than 2.0 yards per carry for the second time this season in Sunday's27-20 lossto Kansas City, magnified by two offensive opportunities inside the Chiefs' 5-yard line which resulted in just three points.

"It has to get better," Pierce said in his weekly news conference. "There has been a lot of opportunities for us to score points and make opportunities and yeah, that's on the playcall. But then also, like I told our staff and I told our players, it's easy to ... point the finger at Luke or myself. But the O-line play, quarterbacks, the running backs, turnovers and missed blocks, missed execution on plays, alignments, the details, all those things have to get cleaned up.

"So yeah, it does start with the coordinator; he's got to be the one that takes the fall for that and gets most of the blame. But it is collective."

With Getsy as the Raiders' first-year offensive coordinator, Las Vegas ranks 28th in the NFL in total offense. It is No. 18 in passing and No. 31 in rushing. The Raiders' average of 18.0 points per game is 26th in the NFL.

To address potential playcalling issues, Pierce had Getsy move from the field to the press box during games before the Raiders' loss at the Los Angeles Ramstwo weeks ago.

"We'll play it by ear, week-to-week," Getsy said before the Chiefs game. "I'm comfortable both ways. I think it was a lot of good that came from being up there, and I think there's a lot of good from being on the field. So, I'm good either way."

Injuries and ineffectiveness have plagued the Raiders, who benched starting quarterback Gardner Minshew for Aidan O'Connell before O'Connell suffered a broken thumb on his right (passing) hand in his second start. Las Vegas went back to Minshew while also signing Desmond Ridder off the Arizona Cardinals' practice squad last week. Minshew has committed 11 turnovers himself, and the Raiders are tied for last in the NFL with a minus-13 turnover differential.

Minshew leaned more into the lack of execution as the culprit.

"Most plays, you have a chance if you do it right," Minshew said. "There's opportunities there to do it and we didn't do it. So at the end of the day, we've got to look at ourselves -- everybody's got to say, 'How can I do my job better?'

"And I think we're doing that. I feel good about how we're approaching this week, that attitude of the guys, our attitude, the coaches, I think everybody's coming in, putting their work hat on, ready to get back after it."

The Raiders have also had four different starting offensive lines in eight games and a fifth might be in order against Cincinnati after center Andre James injured an ankle against the Chiefs and rookie left guard Jackson Powers-Johnson slid over. Plus, Las Vegas has reimagined the wide receiver room in the wake of the Davante Adams trade and tight end Michael Mayer has been gone for personal reasons since after Week 3.

At running back, Zamir White began the season as the starter, but a groin issue sidelined him for two games, and free agent pickup Alexander Mattison--who rushed for 15 yards on 14 carries against the Chiefs -- is averaging a career-low 3.2 yards per carry. They are confounding numbers considering Getsy had guided the Bears to the league's first-ranked rushing attack in 2022 and the second-ranked unit in 2023.