The Las Vegas Raiders’ quarterback competition took to the preseason, but little was decided in Minnesota on Saturday.
Both Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew played well against the Vikings, leading the Raiders to four consecutive scoring drives to open up the game. Vegas backups would ultimately allow Minnesota to storm back for a 24-23 victory.
O’Connell got the start and looked good, completing 7-of-9 passes for 76 yards on a field-goal drive. In his lone possession, the second-year quarterback looked comfortable in the pocket, displayed good accuracy and a willingness to get to his second and third reads.
O’Connell found Jakobi Meyers multiple times for chunk gains, including a key 13-yarder on third-and-3 near midfield. With Davante Adams sitting out, O’Connell showed good rapport with the other starting skill position players, including first-round rookie Brock Bowers.
Things bogged down in the red zone, with the QB missing a throw on second down and taking a third-down sack that forced a chip-shot Daniel Carlson field goal.
It didn’t end in a touchdown, but O’Connell displayed good command of the offense and was able to take advantage of a Brian Flores defense.
Minshew took over from there and led the next four drives into halftime.
The veteran immediately guided Vegas on a six-play touchdown drive that included a deep 29-yard lob that Tre Tucker laid out to snag. Minshew capped it off with a perfect 20-yard touch pass to DJ Turner for the score.
Despite not playing with all the first-string weapons, Minshew led the Raiders to three consecutive scoring drives, going 6-of-12 passing for 117 yards and a TD. As is his modus operandi, Minshew missed a few throws and tossed several ill-advised balls but again showed he can lead an offense and keep the chains moving.
The deep balls off the bat were good to see, as we didn’t get a ton of that from Minshew last season in Indy. The Raiders offense needs to open up after being restricted last season, so if Minshew can bring that to the table, it could give him an advantage in the battle with O’Connell.
“Yeah, it was good. Good reps there for Aidan. Backed up, got us drove all the way down the length of the field. It was close there, was thinking about going for the fourth down, negative play, we kicked a field goal,” head coach Antonio Pierce said post-game, via team transcripts. “And then Gardner came in, three good drives. Really for both quarterbacks, all four possessions led to points on the board for the Raiders. That was positive. There’s a lot of things obviously we can learn from it.”
After the quarterbacks struggled against a Maxx Crosby-led defense during training camp, it was good for Las Vegas to see both signal-callers have positive moments against an opposing defense.
The next step in the process is seeing if either separates next Aug. 17 in a preseason tussle against the Dallas Cowboys.
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