It’s been a disappointing year for the Las Vegas Raiders offense. Despite having All-Pro players like Davante Adams and Josh Jacobs to go with fringe stars like Kolton Miller and Jakobi Meyers, the offense ranks 25th in the NFL in scoring.
The rough year can mostly be attributed to inconsistent quarterback play. Since rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell took over the starting job in Week 9, the Raiders have scored more than 20 offensive points in a game just twice. The offense hasn’t scored a single touchdown in two of the last three games.
Though O’Connell hasn’t played well, interim head coach Antonio Pierce has appreciated how the quarterback has responded to his rough play.
“I really think that takes a lot for a young quarterback to understand that and have that emotional balance of not getting into the highs and the lows of the National Football League, and then to read the press good or bad,” Pierce said during his December 29 media availability. “Because two weeks ago, he was Joe Montana, right? … Now, put him with the Bad News Bears.
“We’re not doing that. He’s the starting quarterback and he’ll have his ups and downs. We got to do a better job around him from the coaches, play callers, players around him to bring him along. I never thought any day we will win a game because of Aidan, that was not the plan and is not the plan going forward.”
These are some blunt comments from Pierce but it’s clear that the team’s expectations for O’Connell aren’t very high. However, with the Raiders back in the playoff race, it’ll be interesting to see if the rookie has a shorter leash.
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