Antonio Pierce's locker room speech goes viral after Raiders pull stunning victory over Chiefs: "Let's smoke our sh*t"
Antonio Pierce is living his dream after his Las Vegas Raiders defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in an upset on Christmas Day Monday. They improved to 7-8 and increased their chances of qualifying for the playoffs.
The 20-14 win was full of personality as Las Vegas got in the faces of the current AFC West division leaders. They intercepted Patrick Mahomes and limited the Kansas City offense through strong physical football.
After the game ended, Antonio Pierce alluded to these qualities in a speech that has since gone viral. He said:
"Everything we talked about. Violence. Physicality. Execution. The will to win. Look at that second quarter. What did we say we were gonna do? 2 defensive touchdowns [in] seven seconds. Third quarter. Come right back out. What do we do? And we say fourth quarter. Finish 'em. Offense, hell of a job, man."
He praised the offense and their general play but then he invoked what it means to be a Raider. He grew up a fan of the franchise and said that what makes them who they are is walking the talk. He further said:
"Man, you don't even done a lot around here doing what we just did. We believe. Remember what I said. I will. We will. I believe. we believe. Goddam this is what the hell we do. Let's smoke our sh*t. Let's talk our sh*t. The Raiders godd*mn way."
Antonio Pierce's comments after Chiefs win might be a pointed dig at his predecessor at Raiders
After the win today, the Las Vegas Raiders are now 7-8 and are still alive in the fight for the playoffs. It is still a difficult ask, but the Chiefs have two tough games against the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Chargers. If they lose both and the Raiders win out, there could be some interesting permutations.
But whether they make it to the postseason or not, Antonio Pierce has reinvigorated the entire organization. There was a staleness around the team and the fanbase with things going wrong under Josh McDaniels.
One of the things the former coach tried to do was replicate the system from the New England Patriots, where he was previously employed. In doing so, he brought in Jimmy Garoppolo and others and that did not work out.
Now, Antonio Pierce is reminding the players that there is a way associated with the team called the Raiders' way. His speech might be a reminder that they have a rich history to draw from and need not look at any other franchise.