Las Vegas Raiders interim offensive coordinator Scott Turner showed what a quarterback can do when you let him loose. Even though the Raiders fell short in Week 13 to the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, Raiders quarterback Aidan O'Connell had arguably the best game of his young career.
O'Connell did something in Week 13 that no quarterback has done this season.
O'Connell who was coming off a broken thumb injury, did not show signs of it being a problem. O'Connell played free and with confidence. He stood in the pocket and delivered on drives when the Raiders needed to score.
The Chiefs have one of the best defenses in the NFL and the Raiders offense went up and down the field against them. O'Connell became the first quarterback this season to throw 300 yards against the Chiefs.
The Chiefs have faced top quarterbacks Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, and Brock Purdy. But none accomplished what O'Connell did. O'Connell finished the game by completing 23 out of 35 passes, having 340 yards and two touchdowns.
"I thought he competed. I thought, for what we knew we were getting with Spags [Steve Spagnulol] and that defense," said Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce. "He stood in the pocket, made some tough throws, took some hits, took the shots down the field like we wanted. We had some opportunities to take shots down the field, he threw them. And I thought our skills guys did a hell of a job, competing and making some making really big plays for us."
"I just think getting Aidan out there and getting more and more reps, I do not even think he has 17 starts yet in his career. Coming back after you know five, six-week layoff and just you know being sharp throwing the ball mentally, I mean he was totally engaged and understood what we needed to do especially in the two-minute drive. I thought he did a really good job there. I thought he commanded the offense. It was really good to see him, break the pocket and scramble for a little bit ... I just love the way our guys competed. I love the attitude, the accountability that everybody played with throughout the game and kept their chin up, you know in a tough loss."
