Gardner Minshew benched: Raiders finally go to Aidan O'Connell in Week 5

Mike Moraitis

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Gardner Minshew benched: Raiders finally go to Aidan O'Connell in Week 5 image

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With the team trailing by two scores and doing nothing on offense in the second half versus the Denver Broncos in Week 5, the Las Vegas Raiders decided to bench Gardner Minshew for Aidan O'Connell.

The Raiders actually got off to a hot start, with the Raiders going four plays, 70 yards on a scoring drive to start the game, and then Las Vegas marched 68 yards on 13 plays, resulting in a field goal.

But things went completely downhill after that, starting with a Minshew pick-six on a horribly thrown football from the Broncos' five-yard line on first down. He had tight end Brock Bowers wide open but overthrew him, assuming that's who Minshew was aiming for.

Minshew and Co. went on to do nothing over the four drives that followed, each of which ended in a punt. Then, Minshew put the cap on his ugly afternoon with yet another interception with a little over four minutes left in the third quarter.

This is just about what we expected from Minshew when the Raiders signed him. We knew there would be bright spots along the way, but Minshew's propensity to be wildly inconsistent isn't something Las Vegas is good enough to overcome.

Las Vegas was trailing 20-10 upon Minshew's exit. Now, O'Connell will be tasked with trying to bring back the pulse the Raiders had on offense earlier in the game. And, he may end up getting the ball in Week 6 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

O'Connell started 10 games for the Raiders during his rookie season and had an up-and-down showing before finishing strong. Las Vegas brought Minshew in via free agency to compete with O'Connell, and the former ended up winning the competition.

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Mike Moraitis

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After cutting his teeth with Bleacher Report, Mike Moraitis has covered the Los Angeles Rams and Tennessee Titans for FanSided, and the Titans and New York Giants for USA TODAY Sports Media Group. On top of his duties with Sporting News, Mike is the managing editor and lead writer for Titans Wire.