Both Aidan O’Connell and Brian Hoyer have played for the Raiders this season. For that reason, Josh McDaniels was able to play the mystery starting QB shell game this week with Jimmy Garoppolo missing with a back injury.
McDaniels said before practice Friday that he would wait until after practice to make his decision. Well, practice is over and that decision have been made according to Dianna Rusinni — it’s Hoyer.
Brian Hoyer will be the starting quarterback for the Raiders against the Bears, per source.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) October 20, 2023
Honestly, the only surprise here would have been if he went with O’Connell. The fans were calling for O’Connell to start earlier this season due to a standout preseason by the rookie. But he struggled in his one start.
Hoyer on the other hand came in for Garoppolo last week and led the Raiders on two scoring drives (both field goals) to preserve a 21-17 win.
In each game Garoppolo has started this season, Hoyer has been his primary backup while O’Connell has been inactive.
After starting the season 1-3, the Raiders have won two straight to pull to 3-3 on the season — mostly on the strength of their defense.
In that regard, Hoyer would seem to give the Raiders the best chance to win. Especially when you consider the Bears are without starting QB Justin Fields, so Hoyer may simply be asked not to lose the game for them.
