HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — The Raiders' quarterback battle between Aidan O'Connell and Gardner Minshew has been even and coach Antonio Pierce is ready for the competition to end.
He said Sunday that he hopes to name a starter after Las Vegas hosts the Dallas Cowboys in a preseason game Saturday. The Raiders will then have just one exhibition left, Aug. 23 against the San Francisco 49ers, before the season begins.
“We've got to get ready to play football,” Pierce said. “We've got enough film. We'll have two games in to evaluate.”
He said he hasn't determined which quarterback will start, but like in Saturday's 24-23 preseason loss at Minnesota each will get a quarter of action.
O'Connell, who went 5-4 after becoming the starter last season, opened the game against the Vikings behind center. He drove Las Vegas 83 yards on 15 plays before the series stalled on a sack and resulted in a field goal. O'Connell completed 7 of 9 passes for 76 yards.
“I think it was solid, but a few things I need to work out," O'Connell said after the game. “It will never be perfect, no matter how much you play. I definitely know I have a few things that need to be corrected.”
Minshew, who nearly led the Indianapolis Colts into the playoffs last season, played the second quarter, leading the offense to 17 points. He finished 6 of 12 for 117 yards and a 20-yard touchdown pass to DJ Turner.
“I’ve never been on a team where one quarterback plays the whole time (in preseason),” Minshew said. “There’s going to be an opportunity. We both have to hang in there and lead the offense when we’re in.”
By the time both quarterbacks left the game, the Raiders had a 20-7 lead.
“I thought both guys were efficient,” Pierce said. “I thought there were some opportunities that Minshew made down the field that were really good. When it's a clean pocket, you can see what this offense can be with both guys.
"I thought Aidan did a really good job of being backed down in the red zone and Gardner with the two-minute drill. Everything we wanted to get out of preseason (opener), we got.”
Three key pieces were missing offensively.
Star wide receiver Davante Adams remained on paternity leave for the birth of his son, but Pierce said he was back with the team.
Pierce also was hopeful two potential starting offensive linemen will return next week. Left tackle Kolton Miller and left guard Jackson Powers-Johnson have been on the physically unable to perform list. Miller is rated by Pro Football Focus as the NFL's 10th-best tackle, and Powers-Johnson was a second-round draft pick this year out of Oregon.
Pierce said if he had a do-over against the Vikings, he probably wouldn't have used all his timeouts at the end of the game.
He called his first timeout with 49 seconds left and the Raiders ahead 23-21. The Vikings had third-and-3 at Las Vegas' 39-yard line, and Pierce hoped to force a field goal and get the ball back in time to try to score, if necessary.
But Minnesota picked up the first down. Pierce then used his final two timeouts even though he couldn't prevent the Vikings from running down the clock to kick the winning field goal, which is what happened.
“Lesson learned,” said Pierce, who is entering his first season as the full-time coach after going 5-4 as the interim last year. “We thought maybe it would play out a little differently.”
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Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce talks to his players before an NFL preseason football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/3387204Name)
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew II (15) scramble past Minnesota Vikings linebacker Andre Carter II (55) during the first half of an NFL football game Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Aidan O'Connell (12) throws against the Minnesota Vikings during the first half of an NFL football game Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Three Americans, two Spaniards and a Czech citizen were arrested Saturday after Venezuelan officials accused them of coming to the South American country to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro.
The arrests were announced on state television by Diosdado Cabello, the nation's powerful interior minister. Cabello said the foreign citizens were part of a CIA-led plot to overthrow the Venezuelan government and kill several members of its leadership. In the television program, Cabello showed images of rifles that he said were confiscated from some of the plotters of the alleged plan.
The arrest of the American citizens included a member of the Navy, who Cabello identified as Wilbert Joseph Castañeda Gomez. Cabello said that Gomez was a former navy seal who had served in Afghanistan, Iraq and Colombia. Spain's embassy in Venezuela did not reply to a request for comment on the arrests of its citizens.
The U.S. State Department late Saturday confirmed the detention of a U.S. military member and said it was aware of “unconfirmed reports of two additional U.S. citizens detained in Venezuela.”
“Any claims of U.S. involvement in a plot to overthrow Maduro are categorically false. The United States continues to support a democratic solution to the political crisis in Venezuela,” the statement said.
The announcement of the arrests comes just two days after the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on 16 allies of Maduro who were accused by the U.S. government of obstructing voting during the disputed July 28 Venezuelan presidential election, and carrying out human rights abuses.
Earlier this week, Spain's parliament recognized opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez as the winner of the election, angering Maduro allies who called on the Venezuelan government to suspend commercial and diplomatic relations with Spain.
Tensions between Venezuela's government and the U.S. have increased as well following the election, whose result sparked protests within Venezuela in which hundreds of opposition activists were arrested.
Venezuela's Electoral Council, which is closely aligned with the Maduro administration, said Maduro won the election with 52% of the vote, but did not provide a detailed breakdown of the results.
Opposition activists, however, surprised the government by collecting tally sheets from 80% of the nation's voting machines. The tally sheets collected by the opposition were published online, and they indicate that Gonzalez won the election with twice as many votes as Maduro.
Despite international condemnation over the election's lack of transparency, Venezuela's supreme court, which has long backed Maduro, confirmed his victory in August. Venezuela's attorney general then filed conspiracy charges against Gonzalez, who fled to Spain last week after it became clear he would be arrested.
Maduro has dismissed requests from several countries, including the leftist governments of Colombia and Brazil, to provide tally sheets that prove he won the election. Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, has long claimed the U.S. is trying to overthrow him through sanctions and covert operations.
The Maduro administration has previously used Americans imprisoned in Venezuela to gain concessions from the U.S. government. In a deal conducted last year with the Biden administration, Maduro released 10 Americans and a fugitive wanted by the U.S. government to secure a presidential pardon for Alex Saab, a close Maduro ally who was held in Florida on money laundering charges. According to U.S. prosecutors, Saab had also helped Maduro to avoid U.S. Treasury sanctions through a complex network of shell companies.
FILE - Socialist Party President Diosdado Cabello gives his weekly press conference, in Catia La Mar, La Guaira, Venezuela, Aug. 19, 2019. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
FILE - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro addresses government loyalists gathered at the presidential palace in support of his reelection one month after the presidential vote, in Caracas, Venezuela, Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
