Crunch time: Raiders need QB to step up with playoffs at stake

The Raiders signed up for the inevitable ups and downs that come with a rookie quarterback when they handed their offense to Aidan O’Connell eight weeks ago.

Little did they know how pronounced the line would be between the good and bad the 25-year-old has to offer.

The Raiders are 4-3 since the former Purdue standout took over Nov. 5 against the Giants. Yet O’Connell’s total quarterback rating (QBR) of 31.9 ranks 29th out of 30 qualified passers, according to ESPN. The stat reflects a quarterback whose performance has fluctuated between exquisite and downright awful.

That contrast was apparent the Raiders’ last three games.

O’Connell guided his team to seven touchdowns in a 63-21 win against the Chargers on Dec. 14. He didn’t get the offense in the end zone once in a 3-0 loss to the Vikings on Dec. 10 and a 20-14 win against the Chiefs on Monday.

O’Connell’s QBRs in those games tell a troubling story. His 76.1 mark against the Chargers was high-level stuff. His 15.8 and 12.1 marks against the Vikings and Chiefs, respectively, are bottom-rung numbers.

The Raiders, facing two must-win games against the Colts and the Broncos, need just the good O’Connell the rest of the season.

No one knows that better than the man himself.

“We don’t go into a game thinking our defense is going to bail us out here or there, and obviously they have,” O’Connell said. “They’ve done an awesome job of that, and we’re confident they’re going to do that because they’ve showed it. But we want to perform as best we can individually and collectively as different units on the offense.”

The roller-coaster ride is not sustainable for the Raiders to reach their ambitious goals.

It makes one wonder how aggressive they will be this offseason to bring in a more consistent quarterback with a higher upside.

For now, the team’s immediate concern is making sure O’Connell is an asset the next two games instead of a liability. He is 4-4 as a starter with seven touchdowns and eight interceptions.

The Raiders know they still need to be patient with their young quarterback.

“The best quarterback or the most experienced or most inexperienced, it’s not going to help getting out there and putting extra pressure and showing frustration or coming down on somebody,” receiver Davante Adams said. “So, regardless of what his temperament is like, or his personality, that has nothing to do with it. We’re just doing what’s best for any quarterback.”

The Raiders and O’Connell didn’t envision his first season playing out this way. He was expected to learn behind starter Jimmy Garoppolo and veteran Brian Hoyer and perhaps push for the No. 2 job.

All that changed when Garoppolo’s struggles to start the season cost coach Josh McDaniels his job. That led to a changing of the guard that made O’Connell the starter.

The scrutiny on the rookie intensified as the stakes rose and the Raiders navigated themselves into playoff contention. His growing pains were once an unavoidable part of the development process. Now they could cost the team a postseason berth.

That’s not where O’Connell or the Raiders expected to be. But here they are. They need their quarterback to be at his best the rest of the way if they want to extend their season.

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.