Raiders vs. Chargers: Terrelle Pryor Shows Promise in Loss

The Oakland Raiders opted to get a glimpse at the future by starting Terrelle Pryor in the final game of the season over Matt Leinart. The decision was made Friday by head coach Dennis Allen to start Pryor in a meaningless game against the San Diego Chargers.

Pryor got his first extensive playing time as a pro, and the Raiders fell 24-21. The second-year quarterback out of Ohio State was far from great, but he also wasn’t horrible. Pryor showed the Raiders that he’s a player worth developing and that he needs more time to refine his game.

Pryor had three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing), and the Raiders scored a touchdown on every trip into the red zone. There are a lot of positives from Pryor’s performance, and his supporters will certainly point to them as reasons why he needs more of an opportunity in 2013. Pryor had 49 rushing yards on nine carries, and the Raiders converted 53 percent of their third downs.

There were also negatives from Pryor’s first start, like poor footwork that resulted in questionable accuracy and a lack of zip on his passes. Pryor’s footwork and poor pass protection by the offensive line resulted in an ugly interception. Pryor only completed 46.4 percent of his passes and had only 150 yards passing.



The offensive line did a poor job protecting Pryor, but they also did a poor job blocking for running back Darren McFadden. Outside of Pryor’s rushing, the Raiders averaged just 3.3 yards per carry. Pryor’s receivers also dropped a lot of passes that hit their hands.

You could say that Pryor didn’t get a lot of help on Sunday, but that’s distracting from the issue. Pryor did a lot of things well, but he also had poor accuracy and ball placement that made it hard on his receivers. Pryor didn’t get a lot of help, but that doesn’t mean he was good and his teammates were bad.

Pryor demonstrated a ...

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