Matt McGloin’s Dreadful Performance Helps Hand AFC West To Chiefs
By Kevin Saito
Matt McGloin, Derek Carr’s understudy these last three seasons, served up a terrible performance against Denver and helped hand an AFC West title to Kansas City.
From the moment Matt McGloin took over under center for an injured Derek Carr, I told people that it would be okay. That McGloin was a lot better than people gave him credit for. That the team would be okay, that he just needed to be an effective game manager, lean on the running game and the defense, and just avoid making costly mistakes.
I’d thought McGloin was unflappable. That he thrived on high pressure situations and could be for the Raiders what Alex Smith is for the Chiefs – somebody without a lot of flash and dazzle, and somebody who may not win you a game, but won’t lose you a game either.
Mea culpa. I was wrong. Terribly, terribly wrong.
Against Denver’s defense – a defense missing Derek Wolfe, Brandon Marshall, and T.J. Ward, no less – McGloin looked absolutely overwhelmed and like a rookie getting his first taste of NFL action.
Actually wait – the rookie who really was getting his first taste of NFL action, Connor Cook, looked far more composed and poised than McGloin, so scrap that analogy.
Knowing that the Patriots had already beaten Miami and wrapped up the AFC’s top seed heading into the postseason, the Raiders just needed to beat a Broncos team they’d beaten handily not all that long ago. And they did that by controlling the clock with a brutal running game and a defense that dropped the hammer on Trevor Siemian and Denver’s offense.
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We knew going into this game that Denver would be loading the box to stop the run – which they did to great effect, holding Oakland to just 57 yards on the ground. They were daring McGloin to throw and beat them with his arm – or at least do enough that they’d have to respect the passing game, which would have opened up the running game.
It was all right there for the taking. McGloin had the opportunity to show the world that he was better than anybody expected, that he had what it takes to be a solid NFL quarterback, and that Oakland’s offense was in good hands. Instead, McGloin came out and showed the world exactly why he’s a backup quarterback with no real shot to unseat the starter.
On perhaps, the play that best defines McGloin’s day, he had Amari Cooper – who’d shaken coverage with a brilliant double move – wide open downfield. A touchdown was right there for the taking – a touchdown that would have tied the game at that point.
And McGloin overthrew him by a country mile.
It’s hard to overthrow Cooper who runs about a hundred miles an hour, but McGloin showed that he’s got a pretty lively arm by tossing a ball that ended up somewhere Utah. McGloin consistently overthrew or threw behind his receivers. And for the day, he finished six of eleven for 21 yards. On the plus side, he avoided throwing any interceptions though.
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It’s obviously unfair to blame McGloin for the laundry list of Oakland’s troubles in Denver. The running game was nowhere near as effective as it was in their last meeting with the Broncos. Despite having the league’s twenty-ninth ranked run defense, Denver looked like last year’s Super Bowl winning version this time around – not the unit that gave up 218 yards to Oakland back in week nine.
And the defense got off to a terrible start, yielding a touchdown after an eight play, 84 yard game opening drive engineered by Siemian. A defense that eventually let Denver build up a 24-0 lead in giving up 206 passing yards and two touchdowns to Siemian and 143 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
About the only bright spot for Oakland today was punter Marquette King – who got quite the workout – and his booming 56.5 average on his eight punts.
To put it bluntly, it was a terrible, no good, horrible, all around performance by the Silver and Black. And unfortunately, much of starts with McGloin. If he’d only been able to be slightly more effective than Tim Tebow, it would have opened up the running game and perhaps, changed the complexion of the game.
But he couldn’t and Oakland saw its hopes for an AFC West title and a two seed snuffed out. McGloin’s terrible performance helped hand the division title to Kansas City, and now the Raiders will have to open up on the road in Houston as the AFC”s five seed.
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McGloin, the scrappy, plucky kid with an inspiring story that took him from unlikely walk on starter at Penn State to unlikelier NFL quarterback made me – and many others out there – root for him. Want him to succeed. Add to his story by leading this team to an AFC West title against impossible odds. He made us want to believe in him.
But at the end of the day, the lights were maybe too bright, and the stage maybe too big. I, like many others, hoped for better. It’s likely that nobody feels worse about the performance he delivered than McGloin himself. But he had the chance to quiet his critics and win the Nation over — and he failed to capitalize on it.
It’s unfortunate, but mea culpa. I really wish I wasn’t, but I was oh, so wrong about Matt McGloin.