It was a frustrating outing for Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew as he was benched in the third quarter after a detrimental play in the loss to the Denver Broncos, 34-18. After Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce spoke about turnovers being a problem, Minshew spoke about getting benched Sunday afternoon,

On the game, Minshew threw for 137 yards to go with one touchdown and two interceptions before being replaced by the incumbent starter from last season in Aidan O'Connell. The 28-year old signal-caller would not be reactionary after the game when speaking to the media in saying he wants to “help the team” in anyway he can according to NBC Sports.

“It is what it is,” Minshew said. “Try to help the team, whatever I can. Try to still be an Aidan’s ear, tell him things I’ve been seeing and keep providing a positive presence on the sideline.”

“At the end of the day, no matter what my role [is] on the team,” Minshew continued. “I’m going to try and help the team any way I can. That starts getting back in the building tomorrow and getting back to work.”

Raiders' Gardner Minshew recalls detrimental 100-yard pick six

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew (15) prepares to pass in the first quarter against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High.
Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The decision from the Raiders to sit Minshew came in the third quarter where a deciding factor was when he threw a 100-yard pick six to Broncos star Patrick Surtain II in the end zone. By that time, the score was 10-3 with Las Vegas in prime position to build on their lead, but the course of the game was changed after that play.

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“I just overthrew him…It definitely swung the game,” Minshew said. “And obviously I can’t do that to our team, put us in a bad spot. That swing was definitely on me. … I thought we got off to a good start, and then I killed our momentum with the pick six.”

Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce would mention the keys to success that they have and how each were not met like turnovers which the team had three along with penalties where they had 11 of them compared to Denver's nine.

“Two things we always talk about (that) we cannot do on the road is turn the football over and penalties,” Pierce said. “And those two things we led by a large margin. And that’s not good enough.”

At any rate, the Raiders are now at a 2-3 record which puts them last place in the AFC West as they now have a question of who will be the starting quarterback for next week. As they prepare for either Minshew and O'Connell, Las Vegas will take on the Pittsburgh Steelers next Sunday.