The Raiders start a three-game homestand with Sunday’s game against the Chiefs and they’re asking their fans to make sure that they enjoy an advantage in those contests when it comes to support from the stands.
Allegiant Stadium hasn’t always provided that kind of edge due to Las Vegas being populated by tourists and transplants from other places, but interim head coach Antonio Pierce and players from the team said they felt a different energy from the crowd in wins over the Giants and Jets this month. The team is 4-1 at home overall this season and four of their final six games are at home, so continuing to win on their field would keep them in the playoff hunt.
“I came here with the intentions of making it tough on teams coming in this building and not making it a friendly place to play,” wide receiver Davante Adams said, via Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We’re starting to feel that from our fans now, so we just gotta continue to do our part, team-wise, to make sure we apply that pressure and make it a not fun place to come here and play.”
Pierce didn’t play for the Raiders when they were in Oakland, but he wants to see a crowd that resembles the ones that used to watch the Raiders before their move to Nevada.
“Allegiant Stadium has to be ours . . . That Black Hole has to be real,” Pierce said. “And when we make that a consensus effort and a mindset, and the fans do the same, it’s a hell of a place to play.”
The move to replace Josh McDaniels with Pierce and the two wins following the move fired up the Raiders fanbase. A win over the Chiefs this weekend would provide even more juice to the final stretch of the regular season.
