The Las Vegas Raiders have been in the news quite a bit recently. The team fired GM Dave Ziegler, disgraced former Denver Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels, and they also benched quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in favor of rookie fourth-round pick Aidan O'Connell. You would think all of those things would add up to the Raiders clearly being one of the worst teams in the NFL right now, but despite their dysfunction, the Raiders are still very much in the thick of things in the AFC at the midway point of the 2023 season.
The Raiders improved to 4-5 over the weekend with a victory over the hapless and hopeless New York Giants, a victory which included the Giants losing their starting quarterback -- Daniel Jones -- to a season-ending knee injury.
The context of the game didn't matter to the Raiders, who ended up having the celebration of a lifetime in the locker room after the game. The Raiders, after beating the now 2-7 Giants, busted out the stogies in the locker room, celebrating like they had just won the AFC West, or even an important game...
You know the vibes. pic.twitter.com/UijjL1JS5i
— Raider Posts (@RaiderPosts) November 6, 2023
This video was initially posted on Maxx Crosby's Instagram, but it's now making the social media rounds. It's clear that the Raiders' locker room is just happy that Josh McDaniels is gone, and that's what they're celebrating more than just this victory over the Giants.
Not only that, but the Raiders are celebrating for interim head coach Antonio Pierce, a former player himself who happened to also play for the New York Giants back when he was in the league.
The Raiders have done plenty of flexing on Josh McDaniels this week as far as putting a healthier locker room culture on display in his absence. Earlier in the week, a video surfaced of Davante Adams nailing a shot on a basketball hoop that was put in the locker room after McDaniels was fired.
There’s a basketball hoop now in the #Raiders locker room and it certainly looks like Davante Adams is having fun. 😂😂
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) November 2, 2023
Watch this with sound on.
(🎥 @loganreever)
pic.twitter.com/prmpJydWU3
It's obviously important for NFL teams to have a healthy locker room culture, and a healthy respect for the head coach. Josh McDaniels once again tried to implement his style by force, and nobody cared for it. Go figure.
But celebrating like this after beating the New York Giants is ridiculous, no matter what way you slice it. You can't blame NFL teams for celebrating wins at all, because winning in the league is hard, but maybe save the cigars for something actually notable.
The Denver Broncos will take on the Raiders again late in the season and, just like the Broncos ended their losing streak against the Chiefs, they'll be looking to end an ongoing streak against the Raiders as well. They came within just one point in Week 1 of the season, but the Raiders have had the Broncos' number lately.
Hopefully, they won't be busting out any cigars after the regular season finale.