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Over time, the NFL has lost the art of the quarterback battle. There haven’t been many true fights between players competing for starting QB positions, but this year was a smidge different. There were a few situations this year that had teams letting quarterbacks duke it out, with a real deal quarterback battle just now coming to a close in Las Vegas.
Gardner Minshew II and Aidan O’Connell had a true quarterback battle that came to a close after the Raiders’ second preseason game. Head coach Antonio Pierce described the contest succinctly following the Raiders’ 27-12 loss at the hands of the Cowboys: “I wish it had ended well for both gentlemen, but it didn’t.”
Minshew and O’Connell combined to complete 24 of their 41 passing attempts against the Cowboys for just 191 yards (4.7 yards an attempt).
Pierce eventually named Minshew as the Raiders’ starter, but it’s hard to be bullish on Las Vegas right now after the preseason performance that the team put together. Maybe the defense can overcome whatever the offensive output ends up being, but this is not a successful recipe for a team that has to play Patrick Mahomes twice a season.
This one might not really be a quarterback battle. By all accounts, Russell Wilson will be the starter for the Steelers barring injury.
Justin Fields had an opportunity to steal the job while Wilson rehabbed from injury, but he took too many negative plays during the preseason. Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that there really has never been a battle here and Wilson has been locked in as the starter all the way.
The only thing that seems like it would change this is an injury in-season or dramatically poorer play than anyone expected from Wilson.
This one is fascinating because it seems like it could go in either direction.
Jacoby Brissett has not been the best version of himself this preseason, but he has played good football in recent years and has proven himself to be a capable starter in a pinch. Drake…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl-qb-competition-check-in-gardner-minshew-wins-raiders-job-while-afc-west-rivals-best-choice-seems-clear-212220564.html
Author : Yahoo Sports
Publish date : 2024-08-19 21:22:20
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