McDaniels, Raiders Made a Point to Get O'Connell Reps
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Aidan O'Connell had himself a day in his first NFL game.
The rookie from Purdue threw for 141 yards and a touchdown on 15-of-18 attempts, helping lead the Silver and Black to a 34-7 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
O'Connell played the first three quarters before second-year Raider Chase Garbers stepped in for the fourth.
According to Raiders Coach Josh McDaniels, O'Connell's minutes were all part of the plan.
"I mean, Brian [Hoyer] and Jimmy [Garoppolo] really got a lot of work this week, and I mentioned a number of times, we were trying to kind of look at it in three days here," McDaniels said. "And so, this was really kind of the vision that I had: trying to get those guys a lot of work in practice against some guys that probably weren't going to play on their side of the ball also in the game. And then, let Aidan have an opportunity to experience this for the first time.
"There was a lot of firsts today for him. His first play call, first feeling pressure in the pocket, first two-minute drive, first halftime, all those things. So, I thought he generally handled himself well for the first opportunity. He's going to learn a lot from some of the things that we might have been able to do a little bit better that would have helped us maybe sustain a few drives, but that's why he was in there. So, he's a sponge. He soaks it all in, and he'll take every opportunity to improve."
O'Connell comes in as one of the best quarterbacks in the history of Purdue football.
If Sunday's performance against San Francisco is any indication he can carry over his success from the college level to the pros, and the Raiders could be in for something special down the road.
The Silver and Black will continue the preseason when they face the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday, Aug. 19, at 9 p.m. EDT/6 p.m. PDT.
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