Sin City Raiders

Throughout the offseason, we’ve been hearing that the competition between Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew was too close to name a starter and that it would come down to the preseason. Well, we are now 1/3 of the way through the preseason and now we can see what all the beat writers and coaches have been talking about. That neither man has established himself as the clear-cut QB1 in Las Vegas.

Against the Vikings, O’Connell got the first snaps on offense and he showed promise. While playing in one drive without the offense’s two most reliable players in Davante Adams and Kolton Miller, AOC completed 7/9 for 76 yards on a drive that began pressed up against their own goal line. Everything was going right for O’Connell until he took a 10 yard loss on a sack and with it being on third-down, the team settled for a field goal. Although the offense stalled in the red zone, AOC finished with a strong 101.9 rating.

Enter Minshew.

The journeyman completed 6/12 for 117 yards, ran once for seven yards, and threw the Raiders’ only passing touchdown. Just comparing those lines, you can see the strengths and weaknesses both quarterbacks bring to the table. AOC was the far more accurate of the two while Minshew avoided sacks, kept plays alive and while not as accurate, made the bigger plays. Although O’Connell bested Minshew in completion percentage by over 20 percentage points, Minshew takes home the better rating with his 112.2 surpassing AOC by about 10 points.

While some fans will certainly pick a side after this game for the sake of saying we know who our starter is, this competition looks more like a heavyweight boxing match that is going into the late rounds. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Raider Nation had the right to be worried that neither man would step up and that this would merely come down to who was not as bad as the other. Both quarterbacks showed they could move the offense and, again, the offense was without Kolton Miller and Davante Adams on this Saturday afternoon.

A small portion of Raider Nation had to be disappointed in the showing of third-string quarterback Anthony Brown. There have been comments here and there on social media calling for Brown to get some consideration for the job. Today, he completed one pass for 24 yards. And for a dual-threat QB, he gained 11 yards on one run, but only two yards combined on another four carries. Brown is kind of like the RFK of this competition. He is a distant third-stringer who could be exciting and has a small, but loyal, following. But in all honesty, this was never going to be Anthony Brown’s team in 2024.

For the great debate of who the Raiders will open with at quarterback, we’re onto the next week of preseason football.