O'Connell's Last Outing vs. KC Could Help in Round 2
A lot of weight was placed on the shoulders of Las Vegas Raiders rookie quarterback Aidan O'Connell when he was given the keys upon Antonio Pierce's promotion to interim head coach.
Not even nine games into his NFL career, the 2023 fourth-round draft pick from Purdue was tasked with leading a turnaround effort for a team that had been on a decline.
O'Connell still has a lot of growing up to do, there's no question about it. However, while not all of his performances have met the standards expected from an NFL starting quarterback, the rookie has proven he can hold his own against the league's best.
That was apparent in his last meeting with the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs, when O'Connell passed for 248 yards and a touchdown without a turnover.
That performance, along with his season-best outing against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 15, will be vital as he prepares to take on the AFC West's best team yet again.
Las Vegas Raiders rookie quarterback Aidan O'Connell had one of his best outings of the season in his last meeting with the Kansas City Chiefs.
© Stephen R. Sylvanie | 2023 Nov 26
At the same time, Raiders Interim Offensive Coordinator Bo Hardegree wants his rookie quarterback to keep in mind that "every week's a new challenge."
"He's learning every week, I'm learning every week," Hardegree told media members on Tuesday. "From that game [Week 12], obviously and this previous game, it is protecting the football. That was important.
"And [him] just playing with that ability to play fast and kind of learn from anything that came up in this game and the previous game versus the Chiefs, it will be important going forward."
O'Connell has totaled 1,613 passing yards and eight touchdowns in his rookie season, having made seven starts.
For his 248 passing-yard, four-touchdown game against the Chargers last week, O'Connell has been nominated for the NFL's Rookie of the Week Award for Week 15, the league announced on Tuesday.
The Silver and Black will return to action versus their AFC West rivals, the Kansas City Chiefs, on Christmas Day at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. Don't miss it on Monday, December 25, at 1 p.m. EST/10 a.m. PST.
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