If you had to take one single guess about this article, what would it be? You have just one opportunity to ponder the Raiders, and Pro Football Focus, and decide what the latter hates about the former. Because PFF recently published an article detailing the one reason why every AFC team would miss the playoffs, and they didn't exactly bend over backwards looking for an analytic deep cut with the Raiders. And yeah, I probbaly gave it away in the hero image, but also you definitely knew the answer the moment you read the headline, so we'll call it even.
PFF's one reason Raiders won't make the playoffs seems like obvious flaw
Either Gardner Minshew or Aidan O’Connell will start at quarterback for the Raiders in 2024, and it’s difficult to see that being enough for the team to make the playoffs. Minshew will have his moments, but he has just one season with a PFF grade above 70.0 since entering the NFL in 2019. The smart move would be to start O’Connell and see what more is he capable of, coming off a rookie season in which he earned a 65.9 PFF grade. The most likely season outcome is confirmation that Las Vegas is still in the market for a quarterback.
Time is a flat circle. Every day is now just waking up to some well-known football outlet talking about how the Raiders' QBs are bad. And each title is something like, "1 Reason Why Every Football Team Is Good Except The Raiders" or "10 Data Points That Suggest That The Raiders' Deal For Gardner Minshew Is Being Laughed At Right Now." It's like Groundhog Day except there's nothing funny about, and Bill Murray's not here, and no one's interested in watching it.
The Raiders have a QB problem. Giving Gardner Minshew almost $20 million to be a quasi-backup to a 2nd year 4th rounder who's probably not even the answer wasn't a good idea. None of this is news to anyone, but that won't stop anyone (us included, sigh) from talking about it incessantly for the next three months. I'd say that luckily it's a short week, but there's no escape from this. Raiders QB criticsm is inevitable.