HENDERSON, Nev. — The roller-coaster ride is back Sunday, as the Las Vegas Raiders hope to continue their pattern of following each loss with a win when they host the Pittsburgh Steelers at Allegiant Stadium. There is a new man in the front row as Aidan O’Connell takes over for the benched Gardner Minshew II at quarterback, while Davante Adams is stuck in the back of the line near the 90-minute wait sign until he gets traded.
Raiders offensive coordinator Luke Getsy was all smiles Thursday. A big part of this is optimism, and the Raiders have to feel Sunday’s loss to the Denver Broncos would have been a lot different without Minshew’s two interceptions.
“The part that we have to improve upon is the turnover part of it, right?,” Getsy said. “I think if we can improve that, we’re going to give ourselves a chance to win each and every game.”
Minshew was a calming influence on the field and in the locker room — don’t underestimate that with this franchise — and was eighth in the league in completion percentage at 70.7 percent.
But when he missed … he would have missed large barns with an X on them.
“I think Gardner did a lot of really good things,” Getsy said. “He really did. I think the expectations of plays, he completely understood it. I think the grasp of the offense, he got it. His ability to function in and out of the huddle, all that stuff …
“I think it just comes down to, we got to make sure we take care of the football. We just had a couple plays here and there that didn’t give us an opportunity to win. And so as a whole, we just decided that we’re going to try another thing.”
Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox.
Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox.
Sign Up
Minshew’s five interceptions are tied for second-most in the NFL. Getsy had some success kick-starting a dormant running game (84 yards per game, 30th in the NFL) with some jet sweeps two weeks ago, and will have to tweak the offense again. O’Connell — who started 10 games as a rookie last season — will let it rip faster than Minshew, but he doesn’t have the roll-out or play-action ability of his predecessor. Minshew was sacked 15 times but it could have been a lot more.
“There’s a confidence and there’s a comfort in knowing we’re just going to pick up and roll with this guy,” Getsy said.
Raiders and Steelers fans watching how it all works out Sunday will also get to enjoy some mental acrobatics — guessing what would have happened if Steelers quarterbacks Justin Fields or Russell Wilson were with the Raiders now.
Both were linked to the Raiders last offseason, so Fields was more of a stretch. The Raiders hired Getsy as their offensive coordinator despite his struggles with the Chicago Bears last year (27th in passing) — and his quarterback was Fields. Bringing over both would have been a tough sell.
Wilson is finally back at practice from a calf injury, but all signs point to Fields starting again Sunday against the Raiders.
The Raiders had some interest in trading for Fields this offseason, league sources said, but it was fleeting. The Steelers wound up giving the Bears a sixth-round pick (that can become a fourth based on playing time) for Fields, who is only counting $3.2 million against their salary cap. The Raiders, meanwhile, gave the benched Minshew a guaranteed $15 million over two years.
Getsy said he really enjoyed working with Fields.
“Justin is an incredible guy. I mean, just an incredible competitor, great teammate,” Getsy said. “I can only imagine that those guys love playing for him. And yeah, he’s a competitor, so he’s going to bring it every single play. He doesn’t have any back down. There’s no excuses with that guy. That guy goes and balls, and so it’ll be great to see him. I know that our defense will have a big challenge going up against him.”
Fields, 25, is completing 67 percent of his passes (up from 61 last year) for 961 yards, five touchdowns and an interception, and has also run for 172 yards and three touchdowns.
Getsy has been a resource for coach Antonio Pierce and the defensive staff this week.
“They don’t need much of my help,” Getsy said. “But when you’re talking like schemes or maybe places you’ve been in the past, I think sometimes that that can go into a little bit of the conversation.
“Maybe you show a clip and say, ‘Hey, why are they doing what they’re doing?’ And you can maybe have a little background for that stuff.”
Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham has seen growth in Fields.
“You see him at the line of scrimmage, I’m always impressed with young guys when they graduate to the point where at the line of scrimmage, they’re able to get in and out of checks,” Graham said. “He’s doing some of that.”
He’s also got a little Big Ben in him.
“He has a big arm and his ability to make plays when people are around him, when he’s throwing the ball, like you’ve got to wrap this guy up,” Graham said. “I’m not saying it’s Ben Roethlisberger, like that was a whole tackling plan for him back in the day, but he could get rid of the ball from different angles with people around him. You’ve got to get his arm down.
“And obviously as a runner, when the play breaks down he can make some plays, especially in the red area. You see that in the red area, his ability to say, ‘OK, it’s not there,’ he goes. And we know that we’ve got to be ready for that.”
(Top photos of Justin Fields and Aidan O’Connell: Joe Sargent and Matthew Stockman / Getty Images)
