Against all odds, Antonio Pierce and the Raiders walked away with a big win at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday.
Week 4 brought a much-improved effort by the Raiders, who worked through adversity after last week’s embarrassing loss to the Panthers.
To hold off an equally-as-desperate Browns’ team, and do it without Maxx Crosby and Davante Adams, the Raiders have a lot to feel good about after Sunday’s 20-16 win.
Guys like Charles Snowden, Tyree Wilson, Isaiah Pola-Mao and D.J. Turner responded well to their increased roles this week, and the Raiders did just enough to stay relevant in the AFC.
But if the Raiders are going to compete for the playoffs this year, they’re going to need more from the quarterback position. Through four games, Gardner Minshew has been average, at best, and continues to have issues with his accuracy.
Against the Browns, Minshew missed a wide open D.J. Turner on what should have been one of the biggest plays of the game, and his final stat line of 14-24 for 130 passing yards probably isn’t going to be enough to win most weeks.
Fortunately for the Raiders, they ran the ball well this week, but what would the outcome have been if the Browns had bottled up Luke Getsy’s running game the way every other team has to this point in the season?
The running game is supposed to be a quarterback’s best friend, but Minshew posted his worst quarterback rating of the season in the game that the team ran the ball best.
It didn’t help that Adams wasn’t on the field, but Minshew has only found a rhythm in one quarter in four games.
Before the season gets too far down the road, should Pierce turn to Aidan O’Connell and see if the offense can hit on at least one more cylinder?
A quarterback change could backfire, and that’s why it probably won’t happen immediately, but the upside to Minshew doesn’t seem to be enough to sit O’Connell much longer.
Why not roll the dice now and see if the passing game can get a boost with O’Connell in the lineup?
It’s a boost the Raiders will probably need if they want to compete in some of the more difficult games coming on the schedule.
x: @raidersbeat
Keep Minshew in there as long as they are winning. The OL protection must improve before they can make the switch to a pocket passer, like O’connell. If it weren’t for Minshew’s mobility, there would be a lot more sacks for the opposition. That said, I’m excited to see two rookie OL starting! Maybe we finally have a GM that can draft much needed talent?!
Change is good. Let’s make some trades so we can move up in the draft to get that qb for the future. I’d love to see Adams be sent to the Bills. Move the 3rd TE also. Go get Reddick. Come on Telesco wake up.
Stick with Minshew. It’s the smart thing to do. You really need to be more positive.
Hell yes they should!!!! It should have been him from the start . He earned that spot last season.
O’Connell should have been the starter from the outset. He outplayed Nimshew in the preseason.
Aidan Oconnell should be back on the field running the offense and being the only stud at quarterback which he has more than proven to me and the other BILLION RAIDERS FANS,but apparently not Antonio Pierce!! I have been a RAIDERS fan for 43 years and don’t ever plan on changing, but some years they make it very very difficult!!!!
I thought O’Connell should have been the quarterback to begin with. Yes it is time to make a change
Only if his name is Tom Brady.
My first Raiders game was the Heidi game in my Mom’s womb! I loved the Raiders since birth. My boys are Raiders Ambassadors, my whole family are fans. We were excited to see AOC at QB this year, especially with the way he finished last season.Going into the season I thought Minshew would be a good quality back up option but not the starter. AOC gave our family hope for a change and that they would go back to their commitment to excellence motto. I think the sooner they put in AOC the sooner it gives us a chance for the playoffs.