It’s been a rough season for the Raiders. With not much to celebrate. That played out right to the end, with the team losing the season finale to the Chargers to finish 4-13. But in the midst of it all, they got to celebrate their ultimate team guy get a well deserved accomplishment.
Jakobi Meyers is a beloved player on this Raiders squad. Having spent last season in the shadow of Davante Adams while catching a career-high eight touchdowns. To this season, watching the team fall into turmoil three weeks into the season and Adams force a trade to the Jets.
He took the hand he was dealt and went on to set several other career bests. He came into the season finale needing 96 yards to get to 1000 yards for the first time in his career. He finished the game with 123 yards to finish the season with 1027 yards. No one was more happy for him than his head coach, Antonio Pierce.
“To me it’s just the ultimate compliment for this player,” said Pierce. “He’s done all the dirty work, right? The crack blocks, the run blocking, reverses, throw the ball. Whatever we ask him to do. Now he gets the opportunity to showcase himself as a premiere or legit number one receiver and he put himself kind of in that category. And what I love about it is he didn’t really talk about that. He wanted to win. He understood. We all knew what was there and when we threw the ball to him, he made plays. But if you talk about a pro that’s been consistent since the day he walked in last year, it’s been Jakobi Meyers. He’s a team guy, he’s a tough guy, he’s an AP guy, he’s a Raider. I’m glad he’s on our team.”
After all the work Meyers put in these past two seasons, his team was determined for him to reach this milestone.
“This was a group effort,” said Meyers after the game. “This ain’t just me going out there running routes, asking for the ball. A lot of people wanted me to get there. So, it’s for all of us and we’re going to celebrate this whenever we can.”
Meyers finished the game with 123 yards on nine catches. His teammates couldn’t have been more happy for him, several of whom congratulating him, including Maxx Crosby who rolled over on his knee scooter to show him some love.
Meyers was still in his pads, having been called to TV interviews immediately after the game “I haven’t even had a chance to breathe,” he said.
It is nice to have a bit of a silver lining on the dark cloud that hung over this team this year. You root for guys like Meyers to see some production in the form of stats to go along with all the value they bring and work they put in that doesn’t show up in their stat column.