There is honesty, there is total honesty and then there is admitting your team is the worst in the league.
Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce raised eyebrows across the NFL this week by doing just that ahead of his side's matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs on Black Friday - live on Sky Sports, with kickoff at 8pm.
The Raiders enter 2-9 at the bottom of the AFC West and one of four teams with at least nine defeats on the year as they take on the 10-1 defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs, who can clinch their playoff berth as early as this week if they win and other results fall in their favour.
Seemingly in an attempt to fuel his team, Pierce sought to emphasise the chasm between the Raiders and their division rivals.
"Let's call a spade a spade, right? Best team in football against the worst team in football," Pierce said. "Let's change the narrative. Let's make it a dog fight, make it ugly, make it scrappy.
"It's Black Friday. Let's create a little chaos, let's get back to Raider football, have some fun, win or lose."
It marks the second straight year the NFL will stage a game on Black Friday after the Miami Dolphins beat the New York Jets following Jevon Holland's incredible 99-yard Hail Mary pick-six at the end of the first half last season.
The Raiders arrive having lost seven straight games, including last Sunday's 29-19 defeat to the Denver Broncos, while the Chiefs' only loss of the year came against the Buffalo Bills on the back of a 9-0 start.
Andy Reid's side survived a late scare last week to deny the Carolina Panthers overtime as Spencer Shrader kicked a game-winning field goal as time expired.
Aidan O'Connell is set to start at quarterback for the Raiders ahead of Desmond Ridder after Gardner Minshew suffered a broken collarbone late against the Broncos.
"We feel good about Aidan," said Pierce. "He's been dialled in, obviously, throughout this time that he's been on IR [injured reserve]. He's done all the meetings. He's been very encouraging on the sideline. He's got that laser-eye focus right now. Great opportunity for him."
O'Connell had been on injured reserve since October 22 having sustained a broken thumb against the Los Angeles Rams. He is notably the last quarterback to beat the Chiefs at Arrowhead as the Raiders ran out 20-14 winners on Christmas Day last year, during which O'Connell admittedly finished just nine of 21 passing for 62 yards and no touchdowns as Zamir White starred on the ground alongside a rampant defensive effort.
"It's not 100 per cent but it's pretty close," O'Connell said of his thumb earlier this week. "It's felt pretty good the last few days throwing. I got to throw starting a little bit in the last couple of weeks and that's been good. It's been kind of horrible not being able to do that.
"To be able to go out there and grip the football and throw a little bit has been awesome. So we're progressing how we want to. It's not just throwing the ball five yards to a guy, it's throwing routes deeper and things like that."
O'Connell, a fourth-round pick out of Purdue in 2023, has completed 52 of 82 passes for 455 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in four games - two of which were starts - this season.
The Chiefs are, meanwhile, expected to welcome running back Isiah Pacheco just two months after he suffered a broken right leg.
Pacheco could feature against the Raiders having seen his practice window opened two weeks ago, though the Chiefs remain wary of rushing him back.
"It's going to be us trying to hold him back because he's a guy that wants to be out there as much as possible, and he wants to play,'' said quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
"At the same time, he wants to win. He knows the long-term goal that we have. Our goal is to get him back as quickly as possible, but at the best time for him and his body, so that we can have him for the long haul."
"We'll work him back in when he's ready and not try to overdo it. He's going to have energy, he's going to want to be on the football field, but I think it's good that we have a good room of running backs, so that we can not make him go out there and take 30 carries or whatever it is."
Kareem Hunt has impressed in Pacheco's absence after re-signing with the Chiefs, rushing for 577 yards and five touchdowns in eight games.
It makes for a valuable one-two backfield punch for the Chiefs come playoff time in January as they continue their search for a historic third straight Super Bowl win.
"Both want the football, which is a great thing,'' said Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy. "They're really good when they have the football.
"They're physical, they're violent and Pacheco brings that 'Energizer Bunny' mentality of the excitement, the fire. You put that together with Kareem and it is a great 1-2 punch. So I think more than anything, it's just refreshing to see him out there.''
Watch the Las Vegas Raiders against the Kansas City Chiefs live on Sky Sports NFL on Black Friday, with kickoff at 8pm. Get Sky Sports or stream with NOW.
