The Oakland Raiders won their first game since October 27th – a 21-18 win at home over the Pittsburgh Steelers – with their 28-23 win at the Houston Texans on Sunday.
Rashad Jennings had a breakout game at the running back position filling in for the oft-hobbled Darren McFadden, running 22 times for 150 yards and a touchdown.
McFadden however, isn’t the only Raiders’ player that needs to worry about losing snaps due to a solid performance from his backup.
Behind center for the injured Terrelle Pryor was undrafted rookie Matt McGloin, and he was good. The Penn State product went 18-of-32 for 197 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions en route to the much needed victory for Oakland.
Is there a QB controversy in Oakland? Scott Bair at CSN Bay Area reports that head coach Dennis Allen will evaluate the situation.
“Here’s what I’m going to do; I’m going to enjoy this win,” Allen said. “Then we’ll go back and we’ll evaluate. Matt definitely did a very good job today.”
In his previous four games, Pryor threw 8 interceptions to just one touchdown — bringing his season total to 5 TDs against 10 picks on the year. Oakland went 1-3 in those starts.
“This is what happens when preparation meets opportunity,” McGloin said, according to the report. “I’ve been prepared for a while now to get in there. My team really supported me. That’s one of the big reasons why I prepared as hard as I could this week and gave it everything I had.”
Pryor still leads the team in rushing yards with 504 this season, but with a sprained MCL his poor passing numbers and lack of recent success may lead to more starts for the less mobile McGloin.
“We have a healthy relationship, Pryor and I,” McGloin said. “You know, this is his team. Film work, what to expect, how to handle situations, he was really there for me the whole way. I’m happy to be playing quarterback with him.”