There is a reason the Houston Texans defense and special teams was a popular stream play among fantasy football players on Sunday. Matt McGloin, an undrafted rookie out of Penn State, started for the Oakland Raiders in place of the injured Terrelle Pryor. His first career start was expected to be a disaster. Instead, he may have earned himself another shot.
McGloin threw for 197 yards and three touchdowns on the road against one of the better pass defenses in the league. More importantly, he did not turn the ball over and led his team to an improbable 28-23 victory. Pryor has been nursing a knee injury, and FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer reported on Sunday that McGloin could start next week against the Tennessee Titans regardless of Pryor’s status.
According to Glazer, the Raiders were “extremely impressed” with McGloin’s poise and performance. Pryor, on the other hand, had regressed before missing Sunday’s game. The former Ohio State star had thrown eight interceptions and just one touchdown in his last four starts. The Raiders went 1-3 during that stretch, with Pryor compiling an abysmal quarterback rating of 42.0. Why rush him back?
Oakland will face another tough pass defense next week against Tennessee. It would be unreasonable to expect McGloin to throw three touchdowns without turning the ball over, but he has to do very little to outplay Pryor. At this point, McGloin probably gives the Raiders a better chance to win.
