Funviralpark The Las Vegas Raiders are reassessing the quarterback position and are on the threshold of a dramatic shift under center this offseason. He chose to bench Kerr, and it is widely believed that he played his last game with the organization.
That hunt is likely to extend across the NFL this offseason, but they saw one in-house option against Jarrett Stidham’s 49ers on Sunday. I may have opened my eyes in the middle of the day.
In a 37–34 overtime loss to San Francisco, Stidham played well, throwing for 365 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. Those three passes and his touchdowns are tied for the most by a quarterback, making him the first NFL start in Raiders history. He also added 34 yards to the ground.
Stidham didn’t waste much time on arguably the best defense in the NFL, leading a 6-play, 70-yard touchdown drive on the opening possession of the game that ended with a 24-yard pass to Darren Waller.
Stidham then lapped back-to-back drives around halftime to score a touchdown to Davante Adams.
With Las Vegas trailing by a touchdown just over two minutes to play in regulation, Stidham led a 75-yard touchdown drive in just three plays to tie the game at 34 with 1:11 on the clock. That possession included his 21-yard pass to McHollins, which brought the offense to midfield before firing his 45-yard throw to Adams and making a stunning diving his catch.
His play helped force overtime, but Stidham didn’t have enough magic left in the tank to pull off the complete upset. On the first drive in overtime, he threw an interception that helped San Francisco return 56 yards and set up a game-winning field goal, dropping the Raiders to 6–10 on the year.
It wasn’t the best result for Stidham in his debut, but he played close against one of the NFC’s top teams and didn’t look like the first player to make the first start in the league.
Stidham entered the NFL as a fourth-round draft selection for the Patriots in 2019 from Baylor. He spent the first three seasons of his career with New England before being traded to Las Vegas this offseason as the two clubs exchanged his picks in the third-day draft. . The move allowed Stidham to join former Pat offensive coordinator and now Raiders head coach Josh He with McDaniels.
