Aidan O’Connell may not be the perfect choice for the Raiders long-term, but he is the right choice for now.
In Friday’s 19-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, O’Connell showed that he will be the Raiders’ quarterback for the rest of the season — unless another injury happens.
O’Connell didn’t seem like a quarterback who hadn’t played in almost six weeks due to a broken thumb. Plus, the Raiders had a short week to get ready for the Chiefs, which meant O’Connell only had walk-through practices to prepare.
Despite that, he completed 23 of 35 passes for 340 yards, including two touchdown passes: one for 33 yards to tight end Brock Bowers and another for 58 yards to wide receiver Tre Tucker. He did not throw any interceptions.
“Thought he competed,” said coach Antonio Pierce on Saturday morning. “I thought for what we knew we were getting with Spags (Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo) and that defense, that he stood in the pocket, made some tough throws, took some hits, took the shots down the field like we wanted.
We had some opportunities to take shots down the field, he threw them. And I thought our skill guys did a hell of a job competing and making some really good plays for us.”
O’Connell’s performance would have been even better if not for the Raiders’ final offensive play.
He moved the team from their 8-yard line to the Chiefs’ 32 with 15 seconds left. The plan was for O’Connell to take the snap, throw the ball away to run off a few more seconds, and then have Daniel Carlson attempt the potential winning field goal without giving Patrick Mahomes enough time to lead another comeback.
However, rookie center Jackson Powers-Johnson snapped the ball earlier than O’Connell expected, and the Chiefs recovered to secure another close, last-minute victory.
The Raiders were called for an illegal shift, which Kansas City declined. However, there was some question about whether the officials had planned to call a false start instead. Although a false start would have cost the Raiders 5 yards, the penalty still would have given Carlson a chance to attempt the field goal.
Pierce mentioned that his team heard an official’s whistle before the snap, and this would be included in the Raiders’ report to the NFL.
“We do that every game,” Pierce said. “Typically, anywhere from three to five questions, and then we’ll get a letter within 24 to 36 hours, and we’ll read it and learn from it.”
