The Las Vegas Raiders sit at 5-8 heading into Thursday Night Football against the Los Angeles Chargers and desperately need a win amid their three-game losing streak. And with the team struggling immensely to score points under quarterback Aidan O’Connell, a change could be made.
Antonio Pierce has yet to make a decision on who will start in Week 15, with Jimmy Garoppolo and Brian Hoyer both in consideration, per Ari Meirov. This is certainly understandable considering how poorly the Raiders have looked in recent weeks.
They put up just 30 points combined between Weeks 11 and 12 before the bye in Week 13. And then on Sunday, Las Vegas lost 3-0. A new face under center is likely necessary. O’Connell completed 21 of 32 passes for just 171 yards and has thrown for more interceptions (7) than touchdowns (4) in his seven games played in 2023.
The Raiders decided to bench Jimmy G earlier in the campaign in favor of O’Connell, but it does appear he may get some playing time again. After all, Las Vegas did sign Garoppolo to a big deal before the season. The veteran completed 65.5% of his passes for 1,205 yards and seven touchdowns against nine picks in six appearances in 23′.
As for Hoyer, He’s only attempted 42 passes and hasn’t thrown for a single touchdown. Not exactly someone with a ton of starting experience, either. If Pierce does shake things up, it’s definitely possible to see Garoppolo leading the offense over Hoyer. Perhaps the Raiders could finally end the skid considering the Chargers are without their QB1 Justin Herbert, who suffered a season-ending finger injury.
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