The Las Vegas Raiders will be playing for pride and the future of Interim Coach Antonio Pierce in the final game of the season.
Quarterback Gardner Minshew threw two long passes in the first half that made the difference as the Indianapolis Colts ended the Raiders’ impressive two-game winning streak, 23-20, on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
The Colts evened the all-time series at 11-11 after Indianapolis beat the Raiders last season, 25-20, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
The Raiders (7-9) were eliminated from the AFC West playoff picture, while the Colts (9-7) are tied for the AFC South lead with the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Houston Texans.
Las Vegas slipped to 4-4 under Pierce, who took over when Coach Josh McDaniels was fired earlier this season, after beating their AFC West rivals, the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs, the reigning Super Bowl champions, in the last two weeks.
Raiders players, members of Raider Nation, and people around the team have been urging owner Mark Davis to remove the interim tag from Pierce’s title.
Still, after this defeat and next Sunday’s finale against the AFC West rival Denver Broncos at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, what will happen in the New Year remains to be seen.
Minshew, who completed 15-of-23 passes for 224 yards, hit rookie wide receiver Josh Downs on the first game series with a 50-yard bomb set for a five-yard touchdown Jonathan Taylor.
Then Minshew threw a 58-yard scoring pass to wide receiver Alec Pierce in the second quarter to give the Colts a 14-3 lead. Both plays came third downs.
