Head coach Dennis Allen has quite the decision to make heading into Week 12 of the NFL season. Terrelle Pryor was named the starting quarterback at the beginning of the season, but now he has some competition from a guy no one expected to be in this position.
When it was announced that Pryor’s knee injury may keep him from starting, it was concerning. After all, Matt McGloin was his backup and there wasn’t much about him aside from preseason footage. No one knew what to expect from the 23-year-old, and little did they know, he would cause a quarterback controversy in Oakland.
McGloin, an undrafted free-agent out of Penn State, got the start against the Houston Texans and has caused quite the buzz. Entering training camp, the Raiders had four quarterbacks; Matt Flynn, Pryor, fourth round draft pick Tyler Wilson, and McGloin. Entering camp no one even expected McGloin to have any chance at making the roster; I mean how could they when all the OTA hype surrounded Wilson? He had a nice training camp which earned him a spot on the roster that pushed Wilson to the practice squad. Now, his play could lead Pryor to the bench.
In that game against the Texans, McGloin threw for 197 yards with three touchdown passes, which resulted in a quarterback rating of 105.9. McGloin is the first Raiders quarterback to have three touchdowns in their first NFL start since 1991 when Todd Marinovich did it. Both McGloin and Marinovich are also the only rookie quarterbacks to throw three touchdowns and have zero interceptions in their first start since the merger in 1970.
There’s no doubt that Pryor is an athletic player and has potential in this game. He’s contributed a great deal to his team this season, as he is the Raiders leading rusher, but an NFL quarterback has to be able to throw the ball as well and read the field and defense; an area Pryor has really struggled all season. There’s even been concerns about Pryor, and a “Tebow-like” regression.
Pryor has a 69.0 quarterback rating to go along with his five touchdowns and 1,559 passing yards. He also has 504 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.
Pryor has made some crucial mistakes this season in his passing game that have cost the Raiders games as he’s thrown 10 interceptions in eight games.
Some may argue the picks are a result of him ‘trying to hard’ or interceptions result because ‘he’s pressured behind a less than subpar offensive line’ but take a look at McGloin and how he handled the number one defense in the league behind that same offensive line.
Pryor hangs on to the ball far too long. He hasn’t learned to get rid of the ball when needed and this leads to dangerous plays, severe loss of yardage, interceptions, fumbles, and so on.
McGloin was pressured by the fierce J.J. Watt and company, but did what needed to be done to avoid such things from happening. Granted the Texans were 2-7, and haven’t won a game in two months, but there’s no denying what a great defense they have.
Sure, McGloin and the Raiders were given favorable field position due to two turnovers early in the game, but they capitalized and those turnovers resulted in touchdowns for the silver and black; something that hasn’t always been the case this season. Most importantly, McGloin led the Raiders to a road victory! As head coach, it was only Allen’s second career road win. If you’re a Raiders fan, you know this team struggles on the road and they just don’t seem to play well in enemy territory, but they did this week and they finished strong.
In one start, McGloin has three touchdowns against a top-ranked defense in the NFL. Not to mention, he didn’t get much help from his receivers as there were many drops in that game. Pryor has five touchdowns total in eight games this season. McGloin moved the ball well and was able to read the very good Texans defense in the process.
In Allen’s Monday press conference, he said “he’s certainly earned the right to be in the discussion,” when talking about McGloin and his chance at starting Week 12. McGloin has definitely caused a quarterback controversy and has earned another start this week at home against the Tennessee Titans. Allen has to go with the hot hand and start the quarterback who moved the ball well and got the Raiders a road victory, Matt McGloin.