New midfielder. Same as Las Vegas Raiders.
The first week of the new Aidan O’Connell era began Sunday, a week after Raiders coach Antonio Pierce benched quarterback Gardner Minshew II. The result for the Raiders was familiar frustration as the Pittsburgh Steelers pulled off a 32-13 blowout.
The Raiders committed countless fouls throughout the game which included an interception, a goal line fumble, a blocked punt, and a roughing-up penalty that negated the interception and extended the Steelers’ touchdown run.
The loss dropped the Raiders to 2-4 in a season already plagued by turmoil.
O’Connell, who started 10 games as a starter in 2023, started his first game of 2024 on Sunday in an attempt to spark a turnaround. Minshew previously won the job in the preseason and replaced O’Connell for the first five games of the season.
Pierce benched Minshew last Sunday after his second interception in a 34-18 loss to the Denver Broncos. On Wednesday, he named O’Connell as the team’s starting quarterback.
O’Connell drove them to a touchdown on their opening drive to take a 7-3 lead. From there, a series of mistakes ensured that Pittsburgh would slip away the game.
With Las Vegas leading 7-6 in the second quarter, Steelers linebacker TJ Watt punted the ball and forced a fumble by Raiders rookie kicker Dylan Laub.
The confusion occurred in Laube’s first professional pregnancy. The Steelers recovered and converted the turnover on the go-ahead run to take a 12-7 lead heading into halftime.
The Raiders nearly came up with a turnover of their own on the Steelers’ ensuing possession. But a roughing penalty on defensive tackle Matthew Butler negated a Justin Fields interception. Six plays later, the Steelers scored a touchdown to go into halftime on top.
The Raiders’ first possession of the second half ended in more disaster. This time, Steelers linebacker Jeremiah Moon blocked an AJ Cole punt for Pittsburgh inside the Las Vegas 10-yard line.
The Steelers converted key field position into a field goal for a 15-7 lead, then scored on their next possession to extend the lead to 22-7.
The Raiders faced a chance in the fourth quarter to cut their deficit to one possession with third-and-goal from the 1-yard line. But Watt came roaring back again, this time forcing a fumble from Amir Abdullah at the goal line.
The Steelers rallied, eliminating hope of a Raiders fourth-quarter rebound.
The Raiders doubled their next possession on an interception thrown by O’Connell and Donte Jackson returned to the Las Vegas 7-yard line.
The Steelers converted that turnover into a touchdown to extend their lead to 29-7 with 7:16 remaining.
When the game ended, the Raiders had committed three turnovers and forced none. They treated fans to their second double-digit loss in three home games.
As for the quarterback change, O’Connell completed 27 of 40 passes for 227 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The loss certainly couldn’t be pinned on him. But the change at quarterback wasn’t helpful to the Raiders.
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