HENDERSON (AP) — Gardner Minshew will be the Las Vegas Raiders' starting quarterback going into the season, coach Antonio Pierce said Sunday.
Minshew beat out Aidan O'Connell for the starting spot. The Raiders host the San Francisco 49ers on Friday in their final preseason game.
Pierce was expected to make the decision after Saturday's preseason game vs. Dallas.
Both O'Connell and Minshew were outplayed by Cowboys' QB Trey Lance, a third-stronger who threw a touchdown pass and rushed for another to lead Dallas to a 27-12 victory over Las Vegas.
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O'Connell looked ready to make a case to be the starter for the Raiders, but a 69-yard interception returned for a touchdown by cornerback Kemon Hall on the first play of the fourth quarter undid his earlier work. O'Connell finished 14 of 20 for 96 yards with a touchdown and the interception.
"I definitely did some good things, converting a fourth down and a couple of third downs, but missed some throws and missed some reads, too," O'Connell said after the game. "And then, obviously, the pick-six lingers in your mind."
Minshew started for the Raiders and had the full array of offensive talent on the field with him, except for wide receiver Davante Adams and tight end Brock Bowers (foot). Minshew played a drive into the second quarter, missing several open targets while completing 10 of 21 passes for 95 yards. The Raiders scored just a field goal in his four drives.
Gardner Minshew's night ends with a line of 10/21, 95 yd, 5 rush yd, 0 TD, 60.6 QBR.
— Nick Walters (@nickwalt) August 18, 2024
His five drives resulted in a turnover on downs, FG, punt, punt, turnover on downs. A would-be pick six was dropped by a Cowboys LB.
AOC's turn to make his case as QB1. #RaiderNation
Minshew said his performance was "not good enough. I had some misthrows, a misread. I have stuff to grow and improve on. I think we shot ourselves in the foot a lot tonight. Any time you do that, you're going to have a hard time, so there's plenty of stuff on tape to get back and work on and get right. There's a lot of good there, too, to build on and have a lot of confidence in."
Pierce said not one practice, scrimmage or preseason game would determine which quarterback was chosen.
"A lot of things went into it," Pierce said on Sunday. "It wasn't based off of last night. There's a lot of factors. We feel like Gardner gives us the best opportunity to get off to a fast start."
