Although the Kansas City Chiefs won their third Super Bowl title in five seasons, Antonio Pierce’s Las Vegas Raiders were one of the teams to show Kansas City that Patrick Mahomesby Usually more deadly.
According to Pierce, this is because he introduced the “Mahomes Rule” to his team. If you’re familiar with the old NBA and how the Detroit Pistons beat a young Michael Jordan (one of Mahomes’ analogies), you’ll know what he means when he says this: Beat the Chiefs’ superstar faces – whatever it takes The price to pay to become a quarterback in the league.
Pierce explained his thought process to Raiders star defensive end Max Crosby on the latest episode of his “The Rush” podcast:
“We have (Michael) Jordan’s rules and what I call, from now on, as long as I’m here, Patrick Mahomes’ rules,” Pierce said. “So, you remember when Jordan was with the Pistons and he was going through this, all those guys in the ’80s; the Pistons used to give him a good slap on the ass before he became Michael Jordan. When did I Been in this hole? Elbow, feel him, like tap. We touch him. We touch him mentally, mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually; I’m touching you. So, I give those guys Shows Jordan’s spanking.”
In the late 1980s, the Pistons relied on the Jordan Rules to defeat the still-rising Chicago Bulls led by Jordan in three consecutive playoff games. The Raiders under Pierce were expected to beat Mahomes’ Chiefs on Christmas Day in 2023, finishing with four sacks and 10 quarterback hits.
Whether Pierce’s persistence and focus on hitting Mahomes will translate into more consistent success against the NFL’s red-and-gold standard, we won’t find out until next fall.