The Raiders have undergone plenty of turnover within the franchise during the season, from the front office to the head coach to the starting quarterback.
After Las Vegas lost to the Lions on "Monday Night Football" back in Week 8 to fall to 3-5, team owner Mark Davis decided it was time for change. Two days later, Davis announced that the Raiders had fired head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager David Ziegler to try and refresh the organisation.
Davis promoted assistant GM Champ Kelly to the interim general manager tag and likewise for linebackers coach Antonio Pierce, who took on the interim head coaching job.
One of Pierce's first orders of business was announcing a quarterback change, moving away from veteran Jimmy Garoppolo in favour of rookie fourth-round pick Aidan O'Connell.
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The decision paid off momentarily as Las Vegas won back-to-back games over the Giants and Jets, but the fresh energy has worn off since then. The Raiders have dropped three games in a row, coming off a baffling 3-0 loss to the Vikings at home last week.
Could Las Vegas revert to Garoppolo as the starting quarterback? He's waiting in the wings.
Where is Jimmy Garoppolo?
Heading into the Raiders' "Thursday Night Football" matchup with the Chargers, Pierce is electing to stick with rookie QB O'Connell as his starter.
Rumours were swirling that O'Connell could be benched for Garoppolo or long-time backup veteran Brian Hoyer after Las Vegas lost the first 3-0 NFL game since 2007 to the Vikings in Week 14.
O'Connell's performance left much to be desired, completing 21 of 32 pass attempts for 171 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception. The Raiders only had 202 total yards of offence, looking incompetent with two additional turnovers on fumbles. They never even got into field goal range to try for a score, with 11 of their 12 drives ending in either a punt or giveaway (and the one outlier being the end of the first half).
O'Connell has been subpar in his six starts this season, leading Las Vegas to a 2-4 record while averaging less than 200 passing yards per game with four touchdowns and seven interceptions.
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Garoppolo and Hoyer weren't much better, though.
In six starts, Garoppolo led the Raiders to a 3-3 record while averaging 200.8 passing yards per game with seven touchdowns and nine interceptions. Hoyer only started one game, losing to the Bears while throwing for 129 yards with a 53.1 completion percentage, zero touchdowns and two interceptions.
Given that O'Connell could have some upside as a rookie fourth-round pick, it makes sense that Pierce is electing to stick with his guy for the time being. But if the 25-year-old can't provide a spark early on against the Chargers on "Thursday Night Football," don't be surprised if Pierce decides to give Garoppolo another chance under center.
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