Frustrations for the Raiders have mounted in recent weeks, but after a 26—14 loss to the Lions on Monday Night Football in Week 8, they may have fully boiled over. Following the game, Las Vegas head coach Josh McDaniels was asked about Jimmy Garoppolo remaining the team's starting quarterback and opted not to answer.
"I'm not going to talk about that right now," McDaniels said when asked about Garoppolo remaining the team's starter, per The Athletic's Vic Tafur.
Quarterback play was unquestionably the biggest area of struggle for the Raiders in the loss, which moved the team to 3–5 on the season. Garoppolo had a rough night, completing just 10-of-21 passes for 126 yards and one interception. As a whole, the Raiders offense was outgained 486 to 157 by the Lions.
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Garoppolo missed the team's 30–12 Week 7 loss to the Bears due to a back injury suffered one game prior against the Patriots. While veteran Brian Hoyer received the starting nod against Chicago, he was replaced by rookie Aidan O'Connell late in the fourth quarter after an ineffective showing.
Hoyer completed 17-of-32 passes for 129 yards and two interceptions in that game, while O'Connell threw for 75 yards, one touchdown and one interception in his brief stint.
If McDaniels opted to make a quarterback change, it'd be surprising to see him go back to Hoyer as opposed to giving O'Connell, a fifth-round pick out of Purdue who shined during the preseason, another opportunity to run the show.
