Why The Giants' Antonio Pierce Might Cost The Jets A Win Sunday...

How might that be? I’m glad you asked.

Well, two weeks ago you’ll remember the Giants killed the Raiders, 44-7.

It was after that game Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce said that playing against the Raiders was like playing a scrimmage.

Now while probably true, it’s not a particularly nice thing to say about your NFL brethren.

So what does this have to do with the Jets? I’m getting to that….jeez, be a little patient, would ya?

Turns out Pierce’s insults got back to the Raiders and they responded by SHOCKING the Eagles, 13-9 on Sunday.

How “shocking” was that victory? Despite being IN Oakland, the Raiders were 16.5 point underdogs. And they won by four. Shocking.

So, back to the Jets. They play the Raiders on Sunday, and according to Oakland, they’re still using Pierce’s comments as fuel.

Today defensive end Richard Seymour proved as much by unleashing, for my money, the quote of the week towards Pierce:

“They [the Giants] got what they deserved this week [48-27 loss vs. New Orleans]. I'm not sure how many points the Saints scored on them, but if I'm not mistaken, it was half a hundred points. So, I think he got enough to chew on himself with that.”

Translation for the Jets: unfortuatnley for you, the Raiders are no longer the patsies they were just two short weeks ago.

And you can thank Antonio Pierce for that. Back when they played the Giants, the Raiders were a team with no direction and seemingly no reason to keep playing this season.

But because of a few ill-timed comments (as far as the Eagles and possibly the Jets are concerned) they now must be taken seriously.

How seriously??….according to Vegas, the Jets are 3.5 point road favorites. Sure, the Raiders are still a home underdog, but they’re gaining some respect.

Thanks, Antonio.

Matt Estreich for The Huddle