The Raiders defense has been surprisingly good all season long. Since interim coach Antonio Pierce took control of the team, that group’s level of play has soared even higher.
It shouldn’t be a surprise. Pierce held a natural leadership position, middle linebacker, on a championship team with the New York Giants. In addition to championship leadership, Pierce is deploying a proven championship strategy in Las Vegas.
Pierce and defensive coordinator Patrick Graham are using a “NASCAR” package along the defensive front. It involves four defensive ends, rather than two ends and two defensive tackles, for added speed to aid the pass rush.
Pierce told reporters on Friday that the Raiders’ NASCAR package was born from the success he had with the Giants. The Giants famously used the strategy to beat legendary quarterback Tom Brady and the Patriots in the Super Bowl not once but twice.
“I had success as a player,” Pierce said when asked why he runs the NASCAR package. “We did that when I was with the team I played with and won some championships with.
“Speed kills, man. You’ve got length and bodies and guys that can rush. You get a guy like we had last week, and another quarterback we’ll face this week, that can move around, that can buy time; well, you can’t buy time when you’ve got speed, and you’re chasing him. He’ll get tired eventually and we’ll catch him and then we gotta pound him.”
Speed has long been a tradition on the Raiders. Historically, the Raiders’ speed has been on the outside and on offense. “Speed kills” used to be the calling card of Hall of Fame wide receiver Cliff Branch, who won three Super Bowls with the Raiders.
Pierce has brought that mentality to the defensive line. Pierce was on the 2007 Giants team that beat an undefeated Patriots squad in the Super Bowl behind five QB sacks, two of them by DE Justin Tuck. Tuck lined up from the inside often that year and his speed was a huge factor for the Giants. Pierce had a front-row seat, as he tallied 11 tackles in the Giants’ surprising victory.
For the Raiders, rookie DE Tyree Wilson has found some success lining up from the inside and had a career-high in QB hurries in the Raiders’ Week 16 win against the Chiefs and QB Patrick Mahomes. Defensive end Janarius Robinson joined Wilson in the NASCAR package along with starting EDGE players Maxx Crosby and Malcolm Koonce.
Altogether, Las Vegas’ pass rush has rarely looked better than it did in Kansas City on Christmas. This week against the Colts, the Raiders will try to keep their momentum going and slow QB Gardner Minshew. Expect to see more of the NASCAR package from coach Pierce as a new era of “speed kills” unfolds for the silver and black.