Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce says he took a page from the Detroit Pistons’ strategy against Michael Jordan when his team beat Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas Day.
(John Locher / Associated Press)

Patrick Mahomes rules.

There’s no truer statement regarding the NFL these days.

With three Super Bowl titles and three Super Bowl MVP awards in the last five years (and with Tom Brady finally calling it quits before last season), the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback reigns supreme over the rest of the league.

But when Antonio Pierce uttered the phrase “Patrick Mahomes rules” during a recent interview, the Las Vegas Raiders coach was talking about something completely different — something he hopes will help his team become the one that reigns supreme in the NFL. It’s a defensive strategy that was inspired by the one the “Bad Boy” Detroit Pistons famously used against Chicago Bulls superstar Michael Jordan in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

“You got the Jordan rules,” Pierce said on this week’s episode of Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby’s “The Rush” podcast. “I’m calling it from now on as long as I’m here, the Patrick Mahomes rules.

“So you remember when Jordan was going through it with the Pistons, all those guys in the ‘80s? Before he became Michael Jordan, Air Jordan, the Pistons used to whoop his ass. Any time he came to the hole? Elbows, feeling him, love taps, we touched him, we’re in their head, mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, I’m touching you.”

Patrick Mahomes had to go overtime to win the Super Bowl MVP award against the 49ers, and has repeated as champion and won three titles with coach Andy Reid.

Feb. 12, 2024

So in the week leading into the Raiders’ regular-season game in Kansas City on Christmas Day, Pierce said, “I showed those guys Jordan getting his ass whooped.”

The two divisional rivals had played less than a month earlier, with Mahomes completing 27 of 34 passes for 298 yards and two touchdowns to help the Chiefs rally from a 14-point deficit for a 31-17 win in Las Vegas.

The second time around was different. The Raiders won 20-14, after leading by 10 points at halftime and 13 going into the fourth quarter. Mahomes, who connected with Justin Watkins for a late touchdown, was sacked four times and had a pass intercepted and returned for a touchdown by cornerback Jack Jones.

Raiders defensive end Malcolm Koonce (51) celebrates with Maxx Crosby after sacking Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes on Dec. 25 in Kansas City, Mo.
(Reed Hoffmann / Associated Press)

“Maxx knows exactly how we built up that week, what I was doing to build up that week — to hate the color red,” Pierce said. “We saw red, we hate red. It was on that kind of level, right? And I told ‘em, there’s a difference between dislike and hatred. There’s a hatred for the Chiefs.”

Not only did the strategy work in that game, it may have helped convince the Raiders to remove the “interim” tag from Pierce’s job title soon after the season ended. Before taking over for the fired Josh McDaniels on Oct. 31, Pierce’s only head coaching experience was at Long Beach Poly High from 2014-17.

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce discussed the Super Bowl sideline incident between him and coach Andy Reid on his weekly podcast with brother Jason.

Feb. 14, 2024

But Pierce proved to be extremely popular among the Las Vegas players, and it must have been hard for the Raiders to ignore how the Detroit Lions have responded to Dan “We’re Gonna Bite A Kneecap Off” Campbell over the last two seasons.

Pierce may hate the Chiefs, especially after their 25-22 overtime win over the San Francisco 49ers at Super Bowl LVIII on the Raiders’ field at Allegiant Stadium on Feb. 11, but he said his goal is to replicate their accomplishments from recent seasons.

In order to do that, Pierce knows they will have to go through the two-time defending champions, including their star player wearing No. 15.

“We’ve got to knock off the team in red,” Pierce said. “We’ve got to knock off the head of the snake — 15. We’ve gotta to do that first.”