LAS VEGAS — With New England Patriots linebacker Jahlani Tavai bearing down on him late in the first half, Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo stood in the pocket and delivered a throw to receiver Jakobi Meyers. After releasing the ball, Garoppolo took a hit that didn’t look all that serious. Still, it was enough to knock him to his knees. When he stood up, he reached back toward the right side of his lower back and grimaced in pain.
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Garoppolo was evaluated on the sideline, went to the locker room and was ruled out at halftime before being taken by ambulance to a local hospital for tests. The Raiders went on to secure a 21-17 win over the Patriots with backup quarterback Brian Hoyer playing in the second half, but Garoppolo’s health remains a major concern.
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Coach Josh McDaniels said he had no update on Garoppolo after the game. “They’re just doing tests and making sure that they take care of all that stuff,” he said.
The Raiders’ pecking order at quarterback has been a hot topic of debate since late summer. Garoppolo’s status as the starter has never been in question, but his lengthy injury history has put his availability under regular scrutiny. In his nine NFL seasons before signing with the Raiders earlier this year, the quarterback had played a full season just once. Naturally, Raiders fans found themselves wondering what the team would do if he went down.
Just six weeks into the season, that moment may be here.
“I don’t know exactly where it’s at,” McDaniels said when asked whether Garoppolo could miss time. “We’ll find out more and then, obviously, try to make the best decision we can for the team.”
That decision could be whether to start Hoyer or rookie Aidan O’Connell next week.
O’Connell started in Week 4 with Garoppolo out due to a concussion, but Hoyer, a 15-year veteran, has remained the backup because McDaniels believes he’s better prepared at this point in his career to step in midgame if needed. So, with O’Connell inactive as the third emergency quarterback, Hoyer replaced Garoppolo to start the third quarter and went on to complete 6 of 10 passes for 102 yards.
“You’ve always got to be ready,” Hoyer said after the game. “You never know.”
Hoyer played well enough for the Raiders (3-3) to hold on for the win, but narrowly beating this version of the Patriots (1-5) isn’t exactly something to brag about.
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“It wasn’t a Picasso,” McDaniels said of the game. “There’s nobody in this room that would love for this to be more of a 20-point victory than me. I think I’m aging by the week, but it is what it is. We’ll take ’em.”
Going into next week against the Chicago Bears, it’s worth examining whether Hoyer still gives the Raiders the best chance to win. The 38-year-old still has some juice in his arm — he fired a 48-yard strike to receiver Tre Tucker in the third quarter — but he’s limited in terms of his physical capabilities. As a result, the Raiders shifted to a run-heavy approach in the second half in an effort to preserve the 10-point lead they built with Garoppolo.
Tre Tucker with the speed 💨#NEvsLV | 📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/LJGOrDUT3r
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) October 15, 2023
Garoppolo had 23 dropbacks and the Raiders ran the ball on 45 percent of their plays in the first half. In the second half, Hoyer had just 10 dropbacks and the Raiders ran the ball 60 percent of the time. Hoyer knows McDaniels’ system well and has seen just about every defense there is, but he’s not built to guide a pass-happy offense. The conservative strategy that resulted proved to be sound considering the defense was playing well against a miserable Patriots offense.
“Knowing the situation and with the way our defense is playing, I wasn’t going to let them touch the ball. That was the mentality I had,” Hoyer said. “Unfortunately, it got a little close there at the end, but they came up big again.”
The Raiders made it into the red zone twice in the second half, but both drives ended with field goals. The run game as a whole wasn’t good — running back Josh Jacobs carried the ball 25 times for 77 yards (3.1 ypc) — and the passing offense was largely held in check outside of Tucker’s long reception. Starting Hoyer only makes sense if he can engineer more success for the offense.
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In theory, there would be more upside in the Raiders turning to O’Connell. The 25-year-old out of Purdue is early in his development and has plenty of room to improve. Hoyer, on the other hand, is what he is. O’Connell’s youth and undetermined ceiling suggest he could become something more long-term.
But with a .500 record heading into back-to-back road games against the Bears and Detroit Lions, the Raiders have to think about the present first and foremost.
O’Connell struggled in Week 4 against the Los Angeles Chargers. He completed just 61.5 percent of his passes, took seven sacks, lost two fumbles, didn’t throw a touchdown and tossed the game-sealing interception in a 24-17 loss. Stepping in on the road and performing well enough to win as a rookie quarterback isn’t easy, but that’s exactly what the Raiders would be asking him to do next week in Chicago.
If Garoppolo can’t play, the Raiders have to pick the player that gives them the best chance to beat the Bears — not crown their quarterback of the future. After Sunday’s game against the Patriots, it’s clear how that line of thinking could lead them to start Hoyer.
A long-term absence for Garoppolo would change the discussion and have wide-ranging ramifications for the Raiders. Ideally, he avoids missing any more snaps and that’s a reality the team doesn’t have to consider.
Whatever the case, the Raiders’ focus will shift toward trying to push above .500 for the first time since Week 1. After a three-game losing streak dropped them to 1-3, they’ve put together two straight wins and given themselves a chance to turn their season around.
“We had a couple that didn’t necessarily go our way as we started the season, but the guys never stopped working the same way,” McDaniels said. “And, obviously, there’s more progress to be made. … We’ve got a long way to go.”
(Photo: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
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