Antonio Pierce had seen enough.
The Las Vegas Raiders coach benched starting quarterback Gardner Minshew on Sunday in favor of backup Aidan O’Connell. Pierce made the switch late in the third quarter as the Broncos held a 20-10 lead.
Minshew had thrown his second interception of the game on the previous Las Vegas drive. He went to the bench having completed 12 of 17 passes for 137 yards with a touchdown and the two interceptions.
The quarterback change is the latest bit of drama in a Raiders season filled with it. Pierce made the move two weeks after criticizing Raiders players for making “business decisions” in a blowout loss to the Carolina Panthers. The Raiders then entered Sunday’s game amid reports that a trade of three-time All-Pro receiver Davante Adams was inevitable.
The Raiders bounced back from Week 3’s loss to the Panthers with a win over the Cleveland Browns in Week 4 to improve to 2-2. But they struggled early on Sunday against a Broncos led by rookie quarterback Bo Nix.
Minshew’s first interception of the day resulted in a likely two-score swing in favor of the Broncos. With the Raiders facing first and goal while holding a 10-3 lead, Minshew targeted rookie tight end Brock Bowers in the end zone on a play-action pass. Instead, he found Broncos safety Patrick Surtain II, who picked off the pass and returned it for a Broncos touchdown.
Instead of holding a two-score lead, the Raiders found themselves in a 10-10 tie early in the second quarter.
The Raiders found themselves playing from behind in the second half. As Denver held a 20-10 lead late in the third quarter, Minshew looked deep downfield for wide receiver Tre Tucker. Cornerback Riley Moss had tight coverage down the sideline and intercepted the jump ball at the Denver 37-yard line.
That was Minshew’s last pass of the day.
O’Connell took over for the next Las Vegas possession. He didn’t fare much better than Minshew. The Raiders lost six yards and punted on O’Connell’s first possession. The Broncos responded with a touchdown drive to extend their lead to 27-10.
On his second possession, O’Connell threw an interception on the first play of the drive. O’Connell targeted Bowers in traffic on a pass over the middle. The ball bounced of Bowers’ hands and into those of Surtain, who recorded his second interception of the day.
The Broncos converted the turnover into another touchdown drive completed by a nine-yard scoring pass from Nix to Josh Reynolds for a 34-10 lead. This was a game the Raiders led, 10-0 in the first quarter.
