‘Similar to last year’: Raiders again turn to backup QB seeking spark

Aidan O’Connell, on the day the Raiders handed the keys to their offense back to the second-year quarterback, was asked what he thought he did to earn the starting job.

An awkward pause followed.

The reality is the Raiders’ quarterback change this week — from veteran Gardner Minshew to O’Connell — has little to do with O’Connell. He has made only two appearances for the team so far this season and both came in garbage time in Raiders’ losses.

O’Connell didn’t earn the job as much as Minshew lost it.

It’s important to keep that context in mind when O’Connell lines up under center Sunday against the Steelers at Allegiant Stadium. He’s not being asked to be a savior. And the Raiders aren’t viewing him as such.

Their expectations for O’Connell don’t involve him doing heroic things. They involve him not doing things that hurt the team.

“No turnovers,” coach Antonio Pierce said. “No turnovers, no turnovers.”

Limiting mistakes

Minshew’s propensity to give the ball away is what landed him on the bench. He had six turnovers through five games, including more interceptions (five) than touchdown passes (four).

Minshew’s mistakes included a backbreaking pick six last week against the Broncos that cornerback Pat Surtain II returned 100 yards for a touchdown. The Raiders were 5 yards away from taking a 17-3 lead at the time. The play evened the score at 10, and the team never recovered in a 34-18 loss.

Minshew also had a costly fumble at the end of the first half against the Chargers in the season opener. It ruined a promising Raiders’ drive with the team already up 7-3. It also set up a Los Angeles field goal that made the score 7-6. The Chargers ultimately scored 13 straight points to take control in a 22-10 win.

The Raiders are not good enough to overcome those kind of swings. Their minus-7 turnover differential is tied for last in the NFL. That’s one of the primary reasons the team is sitting at 2-3 after five games.

If they get that squared away, they at least give themselves a chance to play competitive football each week.

O’Connell’s greatest contribution would be stabilizing the Raiders’ turnover margin. He doesn’t need to be great. He just can’t be careless like Minshew was.

“Make sure I’m being smart with the ball,” O’Connell said. “And just trying to put our guys in the best position to execute and just have positive plays. I think that’s going to be a big thing, is to be consistent and have positive plays.”

Realistic expectations

O’Connell, a 2023 fourth-round pick, started 10 games for the Raiders last year. He completed 62.1 percent of his 343 passes for 2,218 yards, 12 touchdown passes and seven interceptions while leading the team to a 5-5 record.

His best stretch came in the Raiders’ final four games. He threw eight touchdown passes with no interceptions to help the team close the season strong with three wins.

The Raiders understand it would be ambitious to expect O’Connell to carry that exact performance over to this year. But his touchdown-to-interception ratio certainly has a chance to be better than Minshew’s based on those numbers.

“It all starts with just taking care of the football,” wide receiver Tre Tucker said.

O’Connell and Tucker, a 2023 third-round pick, grew close over the offseason while working out together. The chemistry they built was evident during training camp. Now they hope that carries over to the field.

But none of it matters if O’Connell gets sloppy with the ball.

“Nine times out of 10 in this league, when you turn the ball over, you’re killing yourself,” Tucker said.

O’Connell is not as mobile as Minshew. But he has a bigger arm and can make more plays downfield. It’s incumbent on the Raiders offensive line to give him time to step up in the pocket. Otherwise, he is susceptible to taking sacks.

That’s a huge concern this week given the Raiders are facing the fearsome Steelers defense, whose pass rush is led by 2021 defensive player of the year T.J. Watt. Preventing pressure on O’Connell will be paramount.

“Just trying to make quick decisions, get the ball out of my hands to our playmakers and really just do my job,” O’Connell said. “And that’s really my job, is to get the ball to our guys on the edge, our running backs and just let them do what they do.”

Familiar ground

None of this is new to O’Connell.

He alternated between being the starter and the backup at Purdue multiple times in college. He battled highs and lows and several bouts of frustration.

The silver lining is it prepared him for what has already been a roller-coaster ride of an NFL career.

He stepped in for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo nine games into his rookie season after coach Josh McDaniels was fired Oct. 31 and replaced by Pierce on an interim basis. Pierce and O’Connell guided the Raiders to a 5-4 record the rest of the way.

That means replacing a veteran starter midseason feels old hat to O’Connell at this point.

“Similar to last year, coming in kind of in the middle of a year,” O’Connell said.

Still, his strong finish to last season guaranteed him nothing.

The Raiders signed Minshew in free agency and looked at moving up in the draft to select LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels. The team made no secret of the fact that it was looking to upgrade at the game’s most important position.

A lackluster quarterback competition between O’Connell and Minshew then proceeded to stretch across the entire offseason. Minshew got the nod after the Raiders’ second preseason game, but it never felt like he took control. He just seemed to be the default choice given his edge in experience.

Minshew’s poor results didn’t let him keep the job for long. His high points were not frequent enough to outweigh the low moments his turnovers caused.

That means it’s O’Connell’s show Sunday. The Raiders aren’t looking for him to rescue their season. They’re just asking him to provide them better play than what they’ve had so far.

“As you look at it, the part that we have to improve upon is the turnover part of it,” offensive coordinator Luke Getsy said. “I think if we can improve that, we’re going to give ourselves a chance to win each and every game. And I think (Pierce) has made that loud and clear with our entire team, so not just that position. And so that’s really important if we’re going to have success. We’ve got to make sure we take care of the ball.”

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.