HENDERSON. Nev. -- Though Las 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 last week's 27-20 loss to 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 media conference. "There's been a lot of opportunities for us to score points and make opportunities and yeah, that's on the play call. 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' 18.0 ppg scoring average 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 Rams two 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 both 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 -13 turnover differential.
The Raiders have also had four different starting offensive lines in eight games and a fifth might be in order against Cincinnati with center Andre James injuring an ankle against the Chiefs and rookie left guard Jackson Powers-Johnson sliding 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 at 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. Confounding numbers considering that Getsy has guided the Raiders to the league's first and second-ranked rushing attacks the previous two seasons, respectively.
