They'll always have the Ravens win.
A week after the Raiders pulled off arguably the most impressive win of the NFL season so far, things, uh, didn't go so well in their home opener. Andy Dalton and the Panthers came into Las Vegas and thoroughly embarassed the Raiders, if it hadn't been for a late, garbage-time touchdown, the final score would have been the worst home opener loss in almost 20 years.
And while the most concerning performance probably belongs to the defense – even with Dalton taking over for Bryce Young, the Raiders' defense has no business giving up 33 points to the Panthers – the offense once again looked somewhere between subpar and disastrous. The game was out of hand, but it's probably not a great sign for Gardner Minshew's job security that Antonio Pierce decided to pull him for Aidan O'Connell for the last six minutes.
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It's also probably not a great sign that O'Connell immediately drove the offense down field and found Tre Tucker for one of the Raiders' two touchdown passes on the afternoon. He finished 9-12 with 82 yards and a touchdown, which means that it's officially time – the Raiders' QB controversy is here.
Aidan O'Connell cameo in Raiders loss is the beginning of a QB controversy
After the game, when asked if the decision to bring in O'Connell would be something that's on the table moving forward, Antonio Pierce didn't quite commit to one quarterback or another, instead just explaining why he decided to make the move.
"The game was kind of out of hand," he said. "We have two quarterbacks that battled, and I let the other guy go in there and see what he could do a little bit."
Raiders fans aren't quite practicing as much restraint, and even the quickest dive into Raiders twitter is ... illuminating.
Honestly, I rather see Aidan O’Connell at the QB1 position from this point on.
— Shantelle Chand (@ShantelleSChand) September 22, 2024
Are we sure Gardner Minshew is better than Aidan O’Connell?
— FRESH IRC PODCAST (@SS_2FRESH) September 22, 2024
Aidan O'Connell is in the game. Should he start next week?
— Raiders Report Mitchell Renz (@MitchellRenz365) September 22, 2024
Brutal day for the #Raiders offense, struggling to move the ball on a Panthers defense thought to be devoid of talent.#RaiderNation seems split on Gardner Minshew despite the Ravens upset. Some fans told me pregame that they'd still prefer Aidan O'Connell behind center. @KTNV pic.twitter.com/yQoDPvPrzw
— Nick Walters (@nickwalt) September 22, 2024
Might as well bench Gardner Minshew and see what Aidan O'Connell has. Then again, what help is that if the playcalling is ridiculous? I mean you're down 24-7.
— Anthony Galaviz (@agalaviz_TheBee) September 22, 2024
We're on the ride now! It always felt like the Minshew-O'Connell conversation was going to show up at some point in the Raiders' season, but something about it already showing up in Week 3 – seven days after the biggest win of the Antonio Pierce era – feels especially bleak. Maybe watching the Panthers' offense immediately click just by switching quarterbacks gave Pierce some ideas.