Raiders-Saints score: There are worse teams than Las Vegas, but what does that mean for the future?

Future gets more cloudy after another Las Vegas win

Last season, the Las Vegas Raiders padded their record and helped Antonio Pierce get the full-time coaching record by beating some bad teams toward the end of the season.

The same thing is happening in 2024 and it creates some questions on what will happen at the head-coaching spot and at the most important position on the field.

After breaking a 10-game losing streak in Week 16 with a 19-14 win over the awful Jackson Jaguars, the Raiders took advantage of a bad and offensively-depleted New Orleans Saints with an easy 25-10 victory.

Suddenly, the Raiders have a two-game winning streak and they play the Los Angeles Chargers, who have already clinched a playoff berth and is simply only playing for wild-card seeding next week. So, they may rest their starters for all or most of the game at the Raiders.

The Raiders entered Week 16, tied for the worst record in the NFL and were slotted at No. 2 in the 2025 draft. They are currently slotted to draft No. 8. The Associated Press reports they can pick as high as No. 3 and as low as No. 10.

The Raiders, of course, need a new quarterback. The top two quarterbacks in the draft are Shedeur Sanders of Colorado and Cam Ward of Miami (who Raiders’ assistant general manager Champ Kelly personally scouted at his bowl game Saturday). There are currently four quarterback-needy teams projected to draft ahead of the Raiders,

So, Las Vegas may have to give up a lot to trade up to get a quarterback. That’s a tough reality for a team with many needs. Perhaps they will try to trade or sign a veteran, but the future at quarterback is quite murky after these late-season wins over bad opponents.

Pierce’s future is still un clear. NFL media reported Sunday that his future is in “serious doubt.” Raiders’ owner Mark Davis said this month he wants to see progress made by Pierce to end the season. Will these wins over lousy competition earn Pierce another year?

Indeed, many questions remain.

Here are some key aspects of the game:

Record Brocker:

Raiders rookie tight end Brock Bowers had seven catches for 77 yards. He now has 108 receptions for 1,144 yards this season. Sunday, he broke three records. He broke Mike Ditka’s 63-year record for receiving yards by a rookie tight end (1,076 yards). he broke Puka Nacua’s rookie catch record (105) and he broke Darren Waller’s Raiders’ season catch record (107). Bowers is ridiculous.

Breaking 20 points:

The Raiders’ 25 points broke a six-game streak in which they didn’t break the 20-point barrier. The Raiders moved the ball on the ground and in the air well for long stretches, had some good drive and controlled the clock by having the ball 37 minutes, 50 seconds of the game. Aidan O’Connell wasn’t great, but he was solid as he completed 20 of 35 pass attempts for 242 yards with two touchdowns. He wasn’t intercepted, but he caught a break with two would-be picks. Overall, it was a solid day under interim offensive coordinator Scott Turner, But they did have to settle for four Daniel Carlson field goals and their red-zone offense continued to struggle some.

Taking advantage of another bad offense:

The Saints offense was shutout in Green Bay last week and it is playing without Derek Carr, Alvin Kamara and Chris Olave. Carr’s replacement, rookie Spencer Rattler, is pretty awful and the Raiders’ defense had an easy game against them as the Saints were barely able to move the ball in the second half. The Raiders’ defense has played bad offenses in the past three games and have allowed a total of 39 points during the stretch.

Abdullah has career day:

Raiders’ running back Ameer Abdullah has 115 rushing yards on 20 carries. It was his first 100-yard game of his 10-year NFL career. It was also the Raiders’ first 100-yard game by a running back this season.

Winning turnover battle:

The Raiders’ didn’t turn the ball over the second straight game and for the second straight game, their opponent had two turnovers (two Rattler interceptions). That’s how you win games.

Tricky revenge:

The Saints, who were shutout 34-0 at Green Bay on Monday night, scored early in the second quarter on a flea flicker to tight end Foster Moreau. He was so wide open. It was a nice dose of revenge for Moreau, who left the Raiders as a free agent in 2023.

Go Chaisson:
Raiders’ pass-rusher K’Lavon Chaisson had a sack in the fourth quarter. It was his fourth sack in the past five games.

Nice drive:

The Raiders had perhaps their best offensive drive of the season late in the second quarter when they went 95 yards culminating in a short touchdown pass from O’Connell to Jakobi Myers. O’Connell was humming on the drive as he hit Meyers and Bowers for big gainers to setup the score.

Nice season, Meyers:

Meyers became the Raiders’ No. 1 receiver because of the Davante Adams saga in October, He responded by setting a career high for receiving yards. He has 78 catches for 904 yards. He’s a nice player.

Good work by Jack Jones:

Raiders’ cornerback Jack Jones has had his ups and downs this season, but he’s also made some plays. He had an interception Sunday and had three pass defenses. He has 15 this season, which is tied for the fourth most in the NFL.

Disappointing first drive:

The Raiders started the game on offense and were very crisp. O’Connell was passing well and Abdullah was running well and Las Vegas thought it had a touchdown, but Abdullah was ruled he was out of bounds at the half-yard line. Then Raiders then went backwards and O’Connell was sacked way abck at the 13. The Raiders had to settle for a Daniel Carlson field goal. It’s not the way they wanted to see a 17-play. nine minute, 11 second drive end.

Interesting inactives:

The Raiders’ current 53-man roster is pretty healthy, so most of the inactive decisions were based on performances. Cornerback Darnay Holmes and safety Christopher Smith were inactive, which is unusual. But Nate Hobbs and Sam Webb returned. Smith, a fifth-round pick in 2023, has been just a special teams player and a bit of a disappointment,