"He's deserved more reps”: Las Vegas Raiders’ head coach Antonio Pierce expects Alexander Mattison to receive more opportunities

The Las Vegas Raiders secured a win against the Cleveland Browns despite missing several key players, including their All-Pro receiver and pass rusher. They ran the ball effectively, achieving their first 100-yard run all season, totaling 152 yards with two rushing touchdowns. Alexander Mattison led the charge in the run game, despite only getting five carries.His performance outperformed Zamir White, and head coach Antonio Pierce expects him to receive more opportunities.
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The Raiders secured their second victory of the season by defeating Cleveland 20-16. Alexander Mattison led the team with 60 yards on five carries, breaking gains for 24, 16, and 18 yards against the Browns' front. Gardner Minshew took over for Davante Adams, tying for 130 yards on 24 attempts. Zamir White, the incumbent back, gained only 50 yards on 17 carries for a 2.9 YPC average. Antonio Pierce, the Raiders coach, suggested that Mattison should be given more playing time in Las Vegas' backfield following Sunday's performance. "He's deserved more reps," Pierce told reporters, "and he'll get 'em.”

White is the Raiders' lead ball-carrier this season, with 49 carries and eighth in the NFL. However, he has yet to average more than 3.4 yards per tote in a game. White's -0.61 expected points added per carry is the fewest by any RB in the league with at least 30 carries. Mattison, the sixth-year veteran, is averaging 5.1 yards per carry and has 167 total yards and 24 touches in four games. Mattison's success rate on runs is much higher than White's. Las Vegas may continue to use Tre Tucker and DJ Turner in the ground game, possibly moving toward Mattison as RB1.
When asked whether he would continue to use his wideouts in the run, even when Adams returns from injury, Pierce was unequivocal. "It has to be [part of our offense]. It worked," Pierce said. "It has to be.” The Raiders have returned to.500 after a disappointing loss to the Panthers, thanks to a win over an AFC North playoff team. However, first-year coach Mike Pierce is not yet celebrating, especially ahead of a Week 5 match with the divisional rival Broncos.
"I'm proud of the business decisions our team made because they made some really good ones last night. That was good business decisions," Pierce said. "To see them go out and really take pride in their body of work and our staff keeping everything close together and tight-knit was really a credit to what we're building this offseason and into the season. How satisfying? I don't want to be too happy because we want to stack wins. We're not gonna sit there like we won the Super Bowl because we won a game.”
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