Raiders Rumors: Aidan O'Connell Expected to Remain QB1 for Chargers Game in Week 15

Aidan O'Connell has struggled for the Las Vegas Raiders, going just 2-4 as the starter while the team finds itself mired in a three-game losing streak.

It sounds like he isn't losing his place atop the depth chart just yet, however.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, "Despite Raiders' head coach Antonio Pierce being noncommittal about which quarterback would start Thursday night vs. the Los Angeles Chargers, rookie quarterback O'Connell is expected to remain the starter for this week's game, per source."

"We're still going through that process," Pierce told reporters Wednesday when asked about the starting quarterback for Thursday. "Got a couple more hours. See how it's going."

"I never said Aidan wasn't the starter, let's say that first and foremost," he added. "We're still evaluating it. If there's a chance to get better, a chance to improve, a chance to put us in position to win, we gotta get all the factors that go into it."

Coming off a week that saw the Raiders lose 3-0 in a snore-inducing matchup against the Minnesota Vikings, however, it would have been understandable if the Raiders went in a different direction. They're averaging just 11 points per game during the current losing streak.

O'Connell, 25, has thrown for 1,365 yards, four touchdowns and seven interceptions in seven total games this season, completing 63.8 percent of his passes while taking 17 sacks. When Josh McDaniel was fired in early November, Pierce said O'Connell would take over as the starter, replacing the struggling Jimmy Garoppolo.

"It will be Aidan, going forward," he said at his introductory press conference as interim head coach. "We just feel like it gives us the best chance."

It looked to be the correct decision in the immediate aftermath. The Raiders won their next two games and suddenly found themselves at 5-5, daring to dream about the possibility of a playoff berth.

Three straight losses later, however, and those hopes are almost assuredly dashed. The Raiders are last in the AFC West and have eight teams ahead of them in the Wild Card standings, in what has proven to be a congested and competitive conference.

Still, Las Vegas is probably best served seeing what it has in the rookie quarterback before deciding in the offseason if it needs to focus on upgrading at the position.

Given how the team has fared in recent weeks, however, it may not be pretty to watch.