Quarterbacks Aidan O’Connell And Gardner Minshew led the Las Vegas Raiders to points on the team’s first four drives, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Minnesota Vikings away.
At long last, the Silver and Black are finally back in action. Not only has Raider Nation gone seven months without watching Las Vegas play a football game, but they’ve sat through weeks of hearing about the mighty defensive unit in Sin City.
And, although it was only a preseason duel, fans got to see the Raiders’ defense be tested for the first time this season on Saturday.
The defense wasn’t the main focus heading into Saturday’s contest, however. What most fans were eager to see was how quarterbacks Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew performed in the team’s first exhibition game of the season.
After only one half of football, a fanbase that dreaded watching their quarterback(s) play this year suddenly couldn’t be more excited for what the Raiders’ ’24 campaign offers.
For good reason, too.
O’Connell and Minshew split the starting load during the first half with each signal caller playing for one quarter. Up first was O’Connell. The 25-year-old completed seven of his nine pass attempts as he marched Las Vegas down to a goal line opportunity.
Unfortunately, this drive would be cut short as O’Connell took a sack on third down to force a Daniel Carlson field goal attempt.
That was the only offensive drive by the Raiders during quarter number one. Afterwards, it was Minshew until halftime.
Although the stats show a lackluster 50% completion percentage for Minshew on the day – lackluster especially in comparison to O’Connell’s seven-for-nine throwing – make no mistake: Gardner Minshew looked every bit the part of a QB1.
That’s just one of the things we learned on Saturday.
Las Vegas Raiders’ preseason Week 1 contest vs the Minnesota Vikings: What we learned
Three of O’Connell’s seven completions went to Jakobi Meyers, who led the team in receptions after just one drive.
Meyers ended his night with 45 yards receiving, proving he’s already in midseason form by hauling in passes such as this one:
AOC to Jakobi Meyers for 24 yards!
#LVvsMIN on @NFLNetwork
Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/vM69aLcnHe— NFL (@NFL) August 10, 2024
Tre Tucker totaled a team-high 73 receiving yards on two catches. On third and 11, Minshew rifled a ball 40 yards downfield that the second-year pro tracked beautifully.
What a grab by Tre Tucker! pic.twitter.com/n4qn9Uqcpr
— Underdog NFL (@Underdog__NFL) August 10, 2024
While Brock Bowers didn’t have the flashiest debut, he still did enough to showcase his talents. On second down, O’Connell found the rookie and let him create opportunity in open space for his first career catch – although he’ll have to wait until the regular season rolls around before he can say that officially.
Just get the damn ball to Brock Bowers and get out of the way pic.twitter.com/ysGWsw0Rnt
— RaiderRamble.com™ (@TheRaiderRamble) August 10, 2024
Of all the Raiders who made an impact in this game, none did it bigger than Minshew.
Minshew consistently made plays with his arm while he was on the field, including a passing touchdown to D.J. Turner. He made plays with his legs, such as the seven-yard scramble he recorded to pick up a first down. Most importantly, he led the Raiders to points; lots of points.
On his first drive as a Raider, Minshew found Turner for six. On his second, he completed a 44-yarder to Tucker to keep the drive alive and set up a touchdown run by Zamir White.
Drive number three was set up by a blocked field goal kick, putting the Raiders in field goal position with less than two minutes in the half. Las Vegas opted to keep field goal position, closing the playbook in the meantime.
By all accounts, Minshew’s day was nothing short of fantastic. Can he pick back up where he left off next week, though?
That’s a question for Week 2 of preseason.
Giving love to the defense
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold drove his team to the red zone on the first drive of the game. With momentum on their side, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell elected to roll the dice on fourth after being stopped on third down.
Jakorian Bennett wasn’t going to let Minnesota get the first touchdown of the day.
Former Maryland CB Jakorian Bennett comes up big on fourth down to stop Minnesota in the redzone pic.twitter.com/mLXWv5hfDR
— Inside the Black & Gold (@Insideblackgold) August 10, 2024
Bennett has had his ups and downs throughout training camp, but the Maryland alum proved he’s plenty capable of showing up when it matters most. His counterpart, Jack Jones, proved the exact same thing.
On third down, rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy looked to complete a pass to the outside for a new set of downs. Jack Jones had other ideas.
Jacked! #LVvsMIN | FOX 5 pic.twitter.com/HEqRcXP2u6
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) August 10, 2024
That isn’t too surprising, though. Jones came into the NFL as a ballhawk and has notched four interceptions in two seasons.
What is surprising, however, is a blocked field goal kick. Undrafted free agent T.J. Franklin gave Raider Nation a pleasant surprise as he blocked the Vikings’ field goal attempt with two minutes left in the half.
Sin City’s dominant play subsided in the second half, and Minnesota was able to walk away with a 24-23 win over the Raiders.
The loss doesn’t have to be such a bad thing, though. In 2022, Las Vegas went undefeated in the preseason. Despite that, the team followed up their undefeated preseason campaign with a forgettable 6-11 record.
Besides, what matters most in preseason isn’t the final score; it’s how well the players played. For the Raiders, their first and second units played phenomenal.
*Top Photo: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
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