On Christmas Day, something quite unexpected went down in the world of football, specifically with the Las Vegas Raiders quarterback, Aidan O’Connell. It wasn’t just any typical game, and the rookie QB played a key role in an astonishing upset against the Kansas City Chiefs, with the Raiders securing a 20-14 victory, even with pop sensation Taylor Swift in attendance.
Aidan O’Connell didn’t complete a single pass after the first quarter. Ben Fawkes shared this mind-boggling stat on the revamped Twitter, now known as X. According to Fawkes, O’Connell’s passing yards went like this:
- 1st Quarter: 62 passing yards
- 2nd Quarter: 0
- 3rd Quarter: 0
- 4th Quarter: 0
Las Vegas Raiders QB Aidan O'Connell did not complete a pass in 3 entire quarters and the Raiders beat the Chiefs 20-14.
1Q: 62 passing yards
2Q: 0
3Q: 0
4Q: 0Never seen that before
— Ben Fawkes (@BFawkes22) December 25, 2023
So, after a promising start with 62 passing yards in the first quarter, O’Connell went silent in the passing department for the rest of the game. This kind of thing is pretty rare in the NFL.
Ben Fawkes summed it up well: “Las Vegas Raiders QB Aidan O’Connell did not complete a pass in 3 entire quarters, and the Raiders beat the Chiefs 20-14.” It’s not your everyday football strategy, and it’s definitely not something you see often in professional games. Even in the unpredictable world of the NFL, O’Connell’s performance raised eyebrows.
Other teams, like the Michigan Wolverines, have used unconventional strategies that paid off in the end, but this situation with O’Connell was a bit different. It wasn’t about an intentional strategy; it was more about adapting to the circumstances of the game.
In any case, it was one hectic day for the Raiders quarterback, and it left a lot of people in the NFL community talking. The unexpected can always happen in sports, and this was a perfect example of that.