After a disappointing loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, Gardner Minshew headed to his first post-game presser of the season. His demeanor did not seem derailed, but he was obviously not in a joyful mood, either. The Las Vegas Raiders offense, led by Minshew, was extremely underwhelming as they struggled to cross midfield the entire game.
Statistically, it was not a terrible game from the first-year Raiders quarterback as his numbers were among the highest in the NFL for Week 1. Comparatively, Minshew’s 257 passing yards was higher than both quarterbacks of the highest scoring game of the week; Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills and Kyler Murray of the Arizona Cardinals.
The hard question here is whether Raider Nation’s confidence in Minshew is wavering.
Where’s your confidence at as a Raiders fan in QB Gardner Minshew for Week 2?
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Las Vegas Raiders QB Gardner Minshew addresses the many check-downs in Week 1
“Anytime you have a team playing two-high defense you’re going to see that,” Minshew said. “We have guys who can stretch the field, so we want to be able to do that more.”
Running back Alexander Mattison scored the lone touchdown of the game on a check-down throw. The pass led to a touchdown thanks to Mattison’s elusiveness, hurdling a defender and prancing into the end zone. Zamir White also recorded two catches in the game but was unable to create much production from them.
Speaking on the offensive performance
“I think we are going to have to look back on the tape and I think we will see some good things,” Minshew said. “We beat ourselves and that execution was not up to our standard.”
The Raiders lost the turnover ratio by three in a tightly contested matchup. Correspondingly, Las Vegas was unable to compete offensively with the Chargers. However, penalty-wise, the Raiders were far better in comparison, being responsible for five less.
What is the potential of the offense?
“I think we have a lot of juice on offense and once it clicks it is going to click,” Minshew said.
It is very possible that the chemistry among all of the Raiders receivers has not been established to this point. Unlike many other starting quarterbacks, Minshew was not the projected starter at the beginning of the offseason. Additionally, Luke Getsy is having his debut season with the team as the offensive coordinator. After the first full matchup against an NFL starting defense, there could be improvement in the offensive production.
Minshew also touched on the game-changing fumble that he had during the game, taking full accountability.
“It was a little miscommunication on my part and is totally on me,” Minshew stated.
This is tremendous to hear out of a starting quarterback. He could have easily projected blame on the offensive line that did not compete at a high level.
After his presser, it is clear that the offense is not currently at their highest potential, or what they believe they can be. It is only the first week of the NFL season and many things can change as the season progresses. Hopefully, Garner Minshew can produce better for the Raiders and have a better offensive performance altogether moving forward.
*Top Photo: Getty Images
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