NFL coach calls his own team the ‘worst in football’ ahead of Chiefs showdown

Raiders coach Antonio Pierce called his team “the worst team in football” ahead of this week’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Las Vegas is at the bottom of the AFC West after a dismal 9-2 start to the season. On Friday, Pierce’s team visits Arrowhead Stadium to take on back-to-back Super Bowl champions.

The Raiders have lost all of their past seven games ahead of Friday’s trip to face the Chiefs, who are 10-1 in the hunt for a three-peat.

“The best team in football against the worst team in football,” is how Pierce described Friday’s game in Kansas City.

“Let’s call everything out by name,” he added, before urging his team to “change the narrative.” “Let’s go out there and make it a dogfight,” Pierce continued. “Let’s make it ugly, let’s make it sloppy, it’s Black Friday (so) let’s create a little chaos.”

“Let’s get back to Raider football and have some fun, some personality and let it go.”

“The best team in football against the worst team in football,” he said before facing the Chiefs

The Chiefs won 27-20 at Allegiant Stadium in October, but this meeting comes less than a year after the Raiders dented Kansas City’s Super Bowl hopes with a win at Arrowhead Stadium.

On Christmas Day, Las Vegas won 20–14 after scoring two defensive touchdowns in two plays thanks to a Patrick Mahomes fumble and an interception.

This year, Aidan O’Connell will start at quarterback for the Raiders after Gardner Minshew suffered a season-ending collarbone injury.

O’Connell broke his thumb in Week 7 against the Los Angeles Rams. But he returned to training this week and Pierce insisted: ‘Aidan is looking good’

“I have a good feeling about Aidan. He dialed in. During this time (when) he has been on (injured reserve), he has been at all the meetings, he has been very encouraging on the sidelines. He has laser eye focus.”

Pierce selected O’Connell over Desmond Ridder, who replaced Minshew in Sunday’s loss to the Denver Broncos.