Matt McGloin couldn't lead the Oakland Raiders to their second consecutive win, but he did enough in the 23-19 loss to the Tennessee Titans to earn a third straight start Thursday against the Dallas Cowboys.
"Yeah, I thought Matt played well," coach Dennis Allen said, per ESPN. "And for him to lead us back when we needed a touchdown, he got us the touchdown we needed to give us the lead. We just couldn't hold it defensively."
McGloin struggled in the first half but led a go-ahead touchdown drive with just 6:10 remaining in the game, before the Raiders gave up a game-winning drive to Titans quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.
"Just couldn't get things going early on, you're going to have days like that, unfortunately that was one of those days today," McGloin said. "But I thought we did a good job of adjusting at halftime. and it was great to see that we were able to make those changes and continue to get better and figure things out and work things out."
The undrafted rookie quarterback has provided a spark to an offense that, despite some spectacular plays from Terrelle Pryor, all too often treaded backwards. He ended Sunday completing 19 of 32 passes for 260 yards with a touchdown and an interception. His dime to Marcel Reece for that go-ahead touchdown displayed his potential.
Win or lose, if McGloin continues to play the way he did in the second half Sunday, he should keep the job the rest of the season. If he progresses, the Raiders will have some interesting decisions to make at the quarterback position.
*We recapped every Week 12 game in the latest "Around the League Podcast." *
