Though Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce didn’t name anybody specifically when he criticized his team after their loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, cornerback Jack Jones is standing his ground.
Pierce slammed his players for making “business decisions” on the field in their 36-22 loss to the Panthers, and said he promised to follow suit with “business decisions” of his own. He doubled down on that on Monday, too, and he criticized the “entire defensive effort.”
Pretty quickly, clips surfaced on social media that pointed the finger at Jones. There is one play specifically where Jones was seen watching the ball go by him instead of trying to make a tackle. A second play showed Jones just completely missing a tackle.
So on Tuesday, Jones took to social media to defend himself.
“Y’all couldn’t wait to say some bad ‘bout me,” he wrote. “Watch the other seven tackles I made instead of posting one tackle. I’m on to next week. I’m better than what I played and I know that and Ima show that.”
Yall couldn’t wait to say some bad bout me 🤣🤣 watch the other 7 tackles I made instead of posting 1 tackle. I’m on to next week. I’m better than what I played I know that and ima show that..
— Jack Jones🏄🏽♂️ (@presidentjacc) September 24, 2024
He also insisted that any effort issues fans may be pointing to had nothing to do with his release from the New England Patriots in the middle of last season.
And that’s not why bill cut me.. lol
— Jack Jones🏄🏽♂️ (@presidentjacc) September 24, 2024
Again, Pierce didn’t get specific about the “business decisions” that he wanted to make after their loss to the Panthers, which came on the heels of an upset win over the Ravens in Baltimore the week before. And the Raiders’ issues go well beyond Jones — who had seven total tackles, which was the third-highest on the team from that game. But there’s no doubt that those two instances, especially taken out of context, weren’t Jones’ best moments.
Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew also struggled. He went just 18-of-28 for 214 yards with a touchdown and an interception against the Panthers. Minshew was replaced by backup Aiden O’Connell in the fourth quarter, too, after throwing his interception. O’Connell, who was the team’s starter last year, then led the Raiders on a long touchdown drive. Pierce declined to confirm that Minshew was still the team’s starting quarterback after that game, but Minshew is reportedly set to start next week against the Cleveland Browns.
The Raiders have some issues to fix as a whole before Sunday’s game at Allegiant Stadium. Some of that, Jones admitted, is on him. But blaming him entirely isn’t going to fix the problems.
“We ID’d there could be a slip-up in a game like this where you have a high of the highs against the Ravens and you come out against a team everybody’s expecting you to beat. … Just kinda looking back, I think all of us, myself, the staff … it’s just got to be better,” Pierce said Monday.