Chiefs-49ers for the second time in four years is pure misery for Raider Nation.
For fans of the Las Vegas Raiders, Super Bowl LVIII will feature a championship matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, as if the agony of losing Super Bowl LIV four years ago wasn’t enough. For the second time in four years, Raider Nation is up against a nightmare.
Even though the Raiders have left the Bay Area, many fans in Northern California (and possibly some in Southern California) still hold a great deal of animosity toward their former cross-Bay Bridge rivals. From personal experience, there are few things worse than witnessing arrogant 49ers supporters stroll around, smug in the knowledge that they have another season to flaunt their accomplishments.
Then there is the more constructive rivalry with the Chiefs, who with quarterback Patrick Mahomes undoubtedly control both the AFC West and the conference overall. In addition, they now have an opportunity to surpass the Raiders with four Lombardis in franchise history, win three of the previous five Super Bowls, and repeat as champions.
The fact that the big game is being held in Las Vegas doesn’t help either; regardless of the outcome, jokes about the 49ers or Chiefs winning a postseason game at Allegiant Stadium before the Raiders will be rife. Since the Chiefs will also be using the Raiders’ facilities to represent the AFC, Antonio Pierce might be able to obtain some inside information by having a janitor take photos of Kansas City’s whiteboards or listen in on a few meetings.
For Raider Nation, today—which is essentially a holiday commemorating the end of the football season—will be a day of sadness that nothing—not even buffalo wings, nachos, or cold beer—can make up for. Well, perhaps the Super Bowl spread will be helpful something else hurts a little.
Other Raiders Links: Raiders considering San Francisco coach: “The Raiders intend to interview 49ers passing game coordinator Klint Kubiak for their available offensive coordinator position, according to NFL Media.Bill Williamson of Silver and Black Pride wrote, “He can’t interview until after the Super Bowl and the Raiders reportedly want to make a hire soon.”
Pierce has a sounding board in Marvin Lewis: Ray Aspuria of S&BP stated, “Lewis and Pierce are no strangers to one another.” “They had a player-coach relationship with the Washington Redskins in 2002, when Pierce was a linebacker and Lewis was the defensive coordinator. Before Pierce joined the Raiders in 2022 as the linebackers coach, the two worked as peers for three seasons at Arizona State under head coach Herm Edwards.
Three changes Tom Telesco ought to make: “The Raiders did not make many major splashes in free agency this past offseason, although they did strike gold with some of their signings,” according to Brad Weiss of Just Blog Baby. “Jakobi Meyers, Robert Spillane, and Marcus Epps proved to be important additions for the Silver and Black, and it is hoped that Telesco can make the right decisions in free agency in 2024.”
J.J. McCarthy joins the Raiders in a mock draft: Following the success of Aidan O’Connell and Jimmy Garoppolo as starters last season, Las Vegas is taking a different turn. Josh Edwards of CBS Sports states that J.J. McCarthy is a prospect who stands to gain from the pre-draft process because he can showcase his abilities well.
