Following a Las Vegas Raiders loss that set social media ablaze, a potentially surprising player stepped up to take blame for their Week 13 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. In his session of the post-game conference, starting quarterback Aidan O’Connell took full accountability for the loss, breaking down the botched snap at the end of the game.
“It’s completely my fault,” O’Connell said following the tough loss. “I was looking out to the right, making sure guys were set, and I started clapping. In my head, I was thinking, ‘Signal the ball to get the ball,’ but when I start clapping, it tells Jackson, basically, snap the ball… Jackson did exactly what he should’ve done. I clapped too early. Just how the football bounces sometimes. Didn’t go our way. Super tough, but there’s really nobody to blame but myself. That’s probably the hardest part to swallow.”
And while the ending to this game was disappointing for the Raiders, O’Connell played well outside of that final offensive play.
Raiders QB Aidan O’Connell shows improvement in loss against Chiefs
Making his first start for the Raiders since Week 7, O’Connell completed 23 of his 35 passes for 340 yards and two touchdowns against a Chiefs defense that makes some of the best offenses struggle. Considering his last outing resulted in a 10/18 performance for 52 yards, it’s safe to say O’Connell improved significantly.
As a fourth-round pick in 2018, O’Connell hasn’t seen much of the spotlight in Vegas. Most of his action comes when the Raiders’ primary options don’t work out, leaving O’Connell with a poorly dealt hand more times than not.
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This week, O’Connell faced a strong Chiefs defense and threw for a career-high in passing yards (340).
Only twice in his college career did O’Connell ever surpass 340 passing yards. The first was on Nov. 6, 2021, against Michigan State, where O’Connell completed 40-of-54 passes for 536 yards and three touchdowns. The second time was on Dec. 30, 2021, against Tennessee. Against the Volunteers, O’Connell completed 26-of-46 passes for 534 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions.
So, while his environment isn’t ideal, given the lack of talent around him, it appears the young quarterback is improving.