Yahoo Sports Raiders HC Antonio Pierce says team will have 'Mahomes Rules,' channel inner Pistons
Antonio Pierce has heard a lot about how Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is the current Michael Jordan of the National Football League.
Well, if that's who Mahomes is being compared to, then the road to stopping him has already been mapped out.
The Las Vegas Raiders new head coach explained on Maxx Crosby's "The Rush" podcast that he's going to take a page out of the Detroit Pistons' book. The "Bad Boys" of the late 1980s and early 1990s, for a time, found the solution for effectively bottling up Jordan, and Pierce believes his Raiders can replicate that with Mahomes.
Look no further than Las Vegas' 20-14 upset of Kansas City on Christmas Day — the last loss the Chiefs took before winning Super Bowl LVIII.
"We've got the Jordan rules and what I'm calling from now on as long as I'm here, the Patrick Mahomes rules," Pierce told the Raiders' defensive end on his podcast. "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 the head, mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, I'm touching you. So, I showed those guys Jordan getting his ass whooped."
When asked to provide a response to Pierce's comments about being extra physical with one of the NFL's most notable faces and the three-time Super Bowl champion, the NFL reportedly offered no comment to Pro Football Talk.
In the Raiders and Chiefs last meeting, Las Vegas scored two defensive touchdowns — including a pick-six of Mahomes — sacked him four times and registered 10 quarterback hits. That matched the second-most times Mahomes has been sacked in a single game.
"We've got to win the division first," Pierce said. "We've got to knock off the team in red. They've dominated for [eight] years. We've got to knock off the head of the snake. Fifteen. We've got to do that first."
If Pierce plans to play within those rules, then there's nothing to worry about. But if the violence is excessive, similar to what Jordan endured, it's not a far stretch to understand the league will take action and put a kibosh on the "Mahomes Rules."
Pierce may also be mindful of the possibility that Las Vegas is only helping Kansas City by toughening them up and providing its arch nemesis with more fuel.
Take this season, for instance. The Chiefs reeled off six consecutive wins en route to winning their third Super Bowl in five seasons.
Pierce received a nice text message from Chiefs head coach Andy Reid when Kansas City took over Las Vegas' facilities ahead of the Super Bowl.
"I just said, 'Hey, beautiful facility, first of all. And I appreciate you kicking our tail because you taught us a lesson. You get complacent in this business, the margin between winning and losing is tiny,'" Reid told NBC Sports in early February.
