Las Vegas Raiders vs. Minnesota Vikings: What to watch for in Preseason Week 1
By CJ Errickson
On Saturday, the Las Vegas Raiders start their preseason campaign on the road against the Minnesota Vikings. The new head coach, Antonio Pierce, looks forward to seeing what his team is initially made of, even though it is preseason.
“We’ve had 800 team reps…these guys haven’t blinked. There’s been no b*tching or complaining. We’ve got a mentally tough team and a team that’s pissed off and wanna prove a lot of people wrong.”
— Vegas Sports Today (@VegasSportsTD) August 7, 2024
Raiders coach Antonio Pierce speaks on the last day of training camp.
🎥: By… pic.twitter.com/5eLAeQYYK3
While the regular season is over a month away, the Silver and Black have plenty of unfinished business to sort out with their roster, especially at the quarterback position.
It's the ultimate gridlock at the Raiders QB position
One of the biggest storylines heading into preseason for Las Vegas is that it is no secret that Pierce knows that the team will not have an elite offense.
""We're probably not going to be, to be honest, a juggernaut offense," Raiders coach Antonio Pierce told me. "Would I love to be? Yeah. To sit here and say we're going to score 30 points a game, that's not realistic.""
- Per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler
Additionally, the battle is '50-50', and preseason will determine who the starter is sooner rather than later.
"Whatever the best of Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell, we're getting that from them," Pierce said. "It's a new offense, and these guys have a fresh start."
Both quarterbacks will have equal opportunity to shine as both will play one quarter each of the first two preseason games. A fair way to determine the team's signal-caller for 2024 is just the tip of the iceberg for what to watch in Saturday's Preseason Week 1 contest.