O’Connell, Minshew impressive in Raiders’ preseason opening loss

Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew throws a pass during the second quarter of an NFL preseason game in Minnesota on Aug. 10.

PHOTO: Courtesy of Raiders.com

By W.G. RAMIREZ

Aidan O'Connell and Gardner Minshew combined to complete 13 of 21 passes for 193 yards and one touchdown on Saturday, leading the Las Vegas Raiders to a 20-7 halftime lead over the Minnesota Vikings, who ended up winning the game 24-23 on Will Reichard’s 37-yard walk-off field goal.

O’Connell and Minshew, who are involved in one of the closest battles in the NFL, effectively used eight pass catchers over the first 30 minutes, and not one of them was all-pro receiver Davante Adams, who stayed in Las Vegas to be with his wife Devanne for the birth of their third child.

“I mean really for both quarterbacks, all four possessions led to points on the board for the Raiders, so that was positive,” Las Vegas coach Antonio Pierce said after the game. “There's a lot of things obviously we can learn from it. Like to see a little bit better in the running game for us, of course, but I thought the quarterbacks responded well.”

O'Connell, in his second year, started the game and with his only drive of the game, completed 7-of-9 passes (77.8%) for 76 yards and a 101.9 passer rating.

Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell completed 7-of-9 passes (77.8%) for 76 yards and a 101.9 passer rating in a preseason game in Minnesota on Aug. 10.

PHOTO: Courtesy of Raiders.com

Minshew, a sixth-year pro making his debut with the Raiders, finished 6 of 12 (50%) with 117 yards and one touchdown over four drives for a 112.2 passer rating. Minshew's 112.2 passer rating ranks seventh in a preseason game since 2017 for a Raiders quarterback with a minimum of 10 pass attempts.

If there is one thing Pierce saw during the first-half quarterback competition, whoever takes hold of QB1 will have a capable group of pass catchers in the wide receivers' room. Nine Raiders had at least one reception, seven of them whose longest reception was at least 10 yards.

Las Vegas, which struggled to score 20 points on offense last season until Pierce took over as interim coach on Nov. 5 in Week 9, has been under new leadership on the offensive side of the ball with first-year coordinator Luke Getsy trying to piece together a unit that ranked 27th with 4,922 yards.

The Raiders were one of six teams that couldn't gain 5,000 yards last season.

Perspective: Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa finished with 4,624 yards passing last season - just 298 less than the Raiders’ entire offense.

And while it may have been a preseason game chock full of roster hopefuls on both sidelines, Pierce seemed pleased during his interview after his Raiders scored on four of their five drives.

“It's good to see our offensive unit go against another really good defensive team, well-coached team, they do a really good job defensively with their staff and preparing their players, very sound,” Pierce said. “I thought the execution was very smooth. The operation was smooth. I think we had one penalty with delay game, with Gardner, but other than that, everything we asked our offense to do and come out and do, and it wasn't a big game plan, they did.”

The Raiders finished the game with 308 total yards of offense, 188 through the air and 120 on the ground.

O'Connell looked exceptional in showing signs of pinpoint accuracy with several long passes, while Minshew's poise and dual-threat abilities shined.

During the team's first series, on a 3rd-and-3, O'Connell stepped up in the pocket and looked very composed with patience and poise while working through progressions before firing a 13-yard strike to Jakobi Meyers.

O'Connell, who completed his first four pass attempts, was sacked on 3rd-and-goal, leaving the door open for placekicker Daniel Carlson to boot a 31-yard FG and give the Raiders an early 3-0 lead.

Minshew made his Raiders debut in the second quarter and completed his first attempt, a 29-yard completion to Tre Tucker in Vikings territory, at the Minnesota 34. Minshew showed his ability to make things happen on his feet when he scrambled on his first 3rd-down attempt to get the first down.

One play later the veteran journeyman who is hoping he's finally found a home connected with DJ Turner on a 20-yard TD strike, as the Raiders took a 10-0 lead.

On his second series, facing a 3rd-and-11, Minshew floated the ball into the arms of a diving Tucker, who made a beautiful adjustment to haul in the pass over his left shoulder for a 44-yard gain. Minshew did a good job of methodically leading the Raiders downfield on a 9-play, 74-yard touchdown drive, as running back Zamir White plowed in from two yards out, as the Raiders took a 17-7 lead.

On the Raiders' third drive of the second quarter, Minshew had a chance to put his two-minute drive expertise to work, but Las Vegas would only muster two yards from an Ameer Abdullah run on first down. After two incompletions, Carlson booted a 56-yard field goal to put the Raiders in front 20-7.

Las Vegas got the ball back with 26 seconds left in the first half, but it moved just six yards before time ran out.

Anthony Brown played the second half under center for the Raiders and was 1 of 3 for 24 yards and a 63.2 passer rating.

Sincere McCormick paced the rushing game by finishing with 32 yards on 11 carries, while White had 23 yards on six rushes (3.8 avg.) and one touchdown.

Tucker led the team with 73 receiving yards on two receptions. Meyers finished with three catches for 45 yards.

While Pierce said there were certainly areas of improvement he wants to see before next week’s preseason home opener against the Dallas Cowboys, he was pleased with the camaraderie of his team.

“I thought we competed, to be honest ... the effort all the way to the end, those guys was fighting, came down to a field goal,” Pierce said. “But what I really liked, more importantly, was just how the team did everything together. You saw an interception or a sack or a block, there was 50, 60 Raiders running down the field celebrating.

“For the older guys, younger guys, we talked about that, just cheering on our teammates. Especially the preseason where guys get taken out, sometimes they forget about the game and not watch it. And that wasn't the case today.”