It wasn’t a dream revenge game for Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Marcus Peters against his former team. After he missed a number of tackles, Peters was benched in the second quarter of the 31-17 November 26 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and replaced by Jack Jones.
After the cornerback was benched, he had a “spirited conversation” with interim head coach Antonio Pierce, according to a Sunday, November 26, X post from Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Spirited conversation between @Raiders CB Marcus Peters and Antonio Pierce over on the sideline.
Logan Reever of 8 News Now caught on video the conversation between Peters and Pierce. In the clip, Peters (#24) appears to talk at Pierce (in black with headset, standing at the 47 yard line), who turns after a few seconds and walks away behind Peters, who raises his arms in what appears to be frustration.
Marcus Peters was standing alone at the 50 during the drive. Stayed there while the rest of the defense met on the bench after giving up that score.
Peters and Antonio Pierce dapped each other up before halftime but looks like there was some disagreement in the conversation.…
Pierce was asked about the decision to bench Peters, 30, after the game but he simply referred to it as a “coach’s decision” in his postgame press conference. Late Sunday night, The Athletic’s Vic Tafur reported that Peters “is not expected back” when the team returns from its Week 13 bye.
Heading into the game, Peters had 11 missed tackles on the season, per Pro Football Focus, and certainly added to his total against the Chiefs. He’s never been an elite tackler, but his sticky coverage and great ball skills made him a three-time Pro Bowler, most recently in 2019 with the Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Rams.
The Raiders have seen flashes of his playmaking ability, but he has just one interception on the season. It appears the team isn’t willing to overlook his tackling issues anymore.
Las Vegas Raiders Defense Comes Back to Earth
The Raiders defense had been playing quite well, allowing just 12.7 points a game over the past three games. The defense came crashing back to Earth against the Chiefs as the group allowed 31 points and didn’t do much to stop them after the first quarter. Kansas City finished with 298 yards passing and 63 yards rushing.
Pro Bowl defensive end Maxx Crosby was limited with knee injury after being listed as doubtful heading into the game. Crosby played on 82% of the team’s defensive snaps, a season low for him, registering 1 sack, 1 quarterback hit, 1 solo tackle and 1 tackle for loss.
The Raiders weren’t able to generate much pass rush with him off the field. The Chiefs’ offense was averaging 22.5 points per game but easily surpassed that number in Week 12.
Playoff Hopes Dwindling
The Raiders’ playoff hopes were restored when Antonio Pierce took over as interim head coach on November 1 and they won back-to-back games. With consecutive losses to the Miami Dolphins and Chiefs, the team’s chances of making it to the postseason are dwindling. According to CBS Sports’ projection, the 5-7 Raiders have a 2.2% chance of making the postseason.
Heading into Week 13, there are 11 teams with better records than the Raiders in the AFC. Only seven teams get into the playoffs, so Las Vegas has a lot of work to do. The Los Angeles Chargers (4-7) are the only team remaining on their schedule that doesn’t have a winning record.
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Raiders Starter’s Benching Leads to Confrontation; Antonio Pierce Responds