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Raiders vs Jets 2023 Week 10: Studs and Duds

The Las Vegas Raiders pulled out another gutsy win on Sunday night Football, here are the studs and duds from a dramatic victory over the New York Jets. 

By Khaled Abdallah

New York Jets v Las Vegas Raiders
New York Jets v Las Vegas Raiders / Sean M. Haffey/GettyImages
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Raiders QB Aidan O’Connell - Stud

Early on in the game, it looked like Aiden O’Connell might be in over his head against this Jets team. He looked rattled in the pocket at times, and it didn’t help that his star left tackle Colton Miller was sidelined with a shoulder injury. A fumbled snap, followed by a tough interception over the middle had the Young rookie off to a rough start but he bounced back in a big way.

The Raiders knew that O’Connell would be in for a long night against an excellent defense but when called upon, he consistently made the right decision in the right play. His statistical total was nothing special as he went 16 for 27 for 153 yards, and touchdown and interception, but incidentally, this was more yards than Justin Herbert had against the same defense. 

There were two sequences that stood out in particular that highlight the poise and gutsiness of this young quarterback. The first came with the Raiders, getting the ball back with 52 seconds left in the first half on their own 20 yard line. They were down 9-3 at the time and it would’ve been understandable to play conservative and not let O’Connell make a big mistake.

Instead, Antonio Pierce trusted his young quarterback, and let him drop back to push for a field goal. Three completed passes and a roughing the passer penalty later, the Raiders were in field-goal position, and Daniel Carlson pulled them to within three points.

The second sequence ended up being the deciding factor in the game as the Raiders went up by seven and never looked back. After a long Josh Jacobs run brought them inside the Jets 15, they faced a third and four from the 7 yard line. A more conservative approach to Run the ball and kick a field goal would have been completely understandable, but instead Pierce put the ball in his young quarterback's hands and he delivered.

O’Connell hit his fellow rookie Michael Mayer in the corner of the end zone with an inch perfect pass over the unsuspecting defensive back. It was the perfect display of trust and poise from a young quarterback and put the Raiders ahead for good. We don’t know yet if O’Connell is a potential long-term answer at quarterback, but we do know that the moment will never be too big for this young gunslinger.