Raiders-Giants recap: What a response by Antonio Pierce’s team

Instant review of Week 9 victory over the New York Giants

The Las Vegas Raiders made a statement with Antonio Pierce in his first game as interim head coach after the Josh McDaniels’ firing with a 30-6 win over the awful New York Giants at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday:

Let’s take a look at the key aspects of this game:

Records: The Las Vegas Raiders are 4-5. The New York Giants are 2-7.

What it means:

It’s a new beginning in Las Vegas as Pierce and rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell breathed new life into the Raiders. Will it last, especially against better competition? We shall see, but for the moment, the team is feeling very good about itself and that wasn’t the case in the final weeks of the dreadful McDaniels’ era. The Raiders are 3-0 in an interim coach’s debut in the Mark Davis era.

Turning point:

The Raiders’ offense scored a touchdown on its first drive and when the Giants had to turn to Tommy DeVito at quarterback when Daniel Jones went down in the second quarter, it all was all over. It was a much-needed party for the home team.

Injury report:

Cornerback Marcus Peters went out with a knee injury in the fourth quarter. That’s something to watch and one of the very few bummers of the day.

What’s next: The Raiders host the New York Jets next Sunday night. Kickoff is 5:20 p.m. PT.