The Las Vegas Raiders benched quarterback Gardner Minshew for Aidan O’Connell during Sunday’s 34-18 loss to the Denver Broncos, but Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce has not decided who will start for the team going forward.
Pierce was asked which quarterback would start at his postgame press conference and said, “I don’t know.”
Minshew and the Raiders got off to a hot start. On their opening drive, Minshew threw the football up to tight end Brock Bowers, who hauled in the pass and ran into the end zone for a 57-yard touchdown. The Raiders scored again in the first half on a field goal, taking a 10-0 lead over the Broncos early in the game.
The Raiders’ momentum continued into the second quarter when Ameer Abdullah carried the ball for 40 yards on the first play of the drive.
The Raiders continued to drive into the red zone — moving the ball so effectively that they did not even face a third down on the drive — and reached 1st-and-Goal from Denver’s five-yard line. On 1st-and-Goal, looking to extend their lead to 14, Minshew instead threw his pass into the arms of Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II, who returned the pass 100 yards for a touchdown.
The Raiders offense was not the same after Minshew’s pick-six. The team punted on their next four drives before Minshew threw another interception. Following his second interception, the Raiders benched for O’Connell.
O’Connell did not play outstanding after coming in for Minshew, going 10 of 20 for 94 yards and an interception. Minshew finished 12 of 17 for 137 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions before leaving the game.
The Raiders’ loss drops them to 2-3 on the season and last place in the AFC West.
Minshew came into the season as the team’s starting quarterback, but Pierce has previously indicated that there could be a change in the position. After the Raiders’ loss to the Carolina Panthers — when the Panthers benched Bryce Young for Andy Dalton — Pierce said he would not rule out a quarterback change to see if O’Connell could give the offense a spark.
On the season overall, Minshew has thrown for 877 yards, three touchdowns, and three interceptions.
O’Connell previously saw extended playing time last season while filling in for Jimmy Garoppolo. He appeared in 11 games for the Raiders, completing 62.1 percent of his passes for 2,218 yards, 12 touchdowns, and seven interceptions.
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