For the third time in four weeks, the Pittsburgh Steelers will be playing a quarterback who did not open the season as the intended starter. The previous two instances came about due to in-game injuries. Still, in this case, Aidan O’Connell is now the starting quarterback after the Las Vegas Raiders benched Gardner Minshew, moxie and all.
So, is that a good thing or a bad thing? Steve Palazzolo believes O’Connell could give the Steelers just enough reason to worry. After all, they have a history of bad losses to quarterbacks like Bruce Gradkowski and Terrelle Pryor against the Raiders.
“Yes, Aidan O’Connell can be dangerous any given week”, he said of the Steelers’ upcoming opponent on 93.7 The Fan. “That was the story of him at Purdue; that was the story of him last year as a rookie. … He’s got some special plays in him. He can make some pretty nice throws down the field. He’s a little volatile. Yeah, if you get Good Aidan O’Connell, then yeah, you might be able to add him to the list of Bruce [Gradkowski] and [Terrelle] Pryor and everybody else”.
A 2023 fourth-round pick, O’Connell started 10 games for the Raiders last season, going 5-5. He went 213-for-343 for 2,218 yards with 12 touchdowns to 7 interceptions, winning three of his last four. But they signed Gardner Minshew in the offseason, whom the Steelers prepared to face before his benching.
While the Steelers have won their last two games against the Raiders, they were 2-6 in the previous eight. That string includes losses to Derek Carr (twice), Pryor, Carson Palmer, Gradkowski, and Andrew Walton. The bottom line is they lost a lot of games against the Raiders that they shouldn’t have, especially on the road. So, will Aidan O’Connell be the next name to add to that list?
Over his career at Purdue, O’Connell threw for 9,219 yards in 33 games with 65 touchdowns to 30 interceptions. As Palazzolo said, he had some great games but was also unusually prone to the lackluster. Twice during his senior season, he threw for under 200 yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns. Even in the league, the Steelers’ next challenger has had those games. The Raiders beat the Chiefs in a game where he threw for 62 yards. Then he threw for 299 and two touchdowns, and they lost the next week.
One can only hope that the Raiders don’t give the Steelers reason to remember the name of Aidan O’Connell. They have a long enough history of unfortunate and untimely losses against this franchise, and they can ill afford another. Especially right now, the Steelers on the cusp of a three-game losing streak after starting 3-0.
