McDaniels 'Not Gonna Second-Guess' Starting Hoyer

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Brian Hoyer threw for only 129 yards and added two interceptions in his team's 30-12 loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday.

Las Vegas Raiders Coach Josh McDaniels made a point to emphasize his team's 30-12 defeat to the Chicago Bears on Sunday was not one person's fault when he addressed the media after the game.

While that will always be true, veteran quarterback Brian Hoyer was certainly a liability in Week 7.

The first-year Raider completed 17-for-32 passes for only 129 passing yards and threw two interceptions, including a pick-six.

Las Vegas chose to start Hoyer instead of rookie quarterback Aidan O'Connell for Jimmy Garoppolo, who was ruled out for Sunday because of a back injury he sustained in Week 6 against the New England Patriots.

McDaniels defended the decision in his post-game press conference.

Las Vegas Raiders Coach Josh McDaniels refused to second-guess his decision to start Brian Hoyer, while many in Raider Nation are / © Jamie Sabau | 2023 Oct 22

"Look, I've seen him practice every day," McDaniels said. "You know what I mean? And I've watched him, and I saw Aidan [O'Connell] in the L.A. game and had an opportunity to really understand what was going on there, and saw Brian last week in the New England game, and so I just made the decision to try to go with the veteran guy and try to go out there and play a solid game. 

"And so, I'm not gonna second-guess that."

The Raiders did not make a halftime change at quarterback. That change did not come until the fourth quarter when they sent in O'Connell after the game was decided if favor of the Bears.

"I mean, look, I don't think everything was all the quarterback's fault, certainly," McDaniels said. "I thought there were some missed opportunities that we had. But I thought [Hoyer] hung in there and kept playing and put us in position to try to go down, 21-10, I think it was. So, not really [on if he considered switching at halftime], you know what I mean? Not really." 

Hoyer helped lead the Raiders to victory against the New England Patriots last week when he came in for the injured Garoppolo.

Sunday was only his second game of the 2023 campaign and his third in the last two seasons.

The Silver and Black will stay on the road to take on the Detroit Lions at Ford Field in Detroit on Monday night, Oct. 30, at 8:15 p.m. EDT/5:15 p.m. PDT.

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