Connor Cook struggled as expected in first start, so why didn't Raiders try Matt McGloin?

It’s understandable why the Oakland Raiders started rookie quarterback Connor Cook on Saturday.

Matt McGloin is an average backup, and the Raiders watched him play poorly in the regular-season finale against the Denver Broncos before he injured his shoulder. The Raiders probably figured that the unknown in Cook was more promising than what McGloin brings to the table. McGloin probably wasn’t healthy either, though he felt good enough to practice this week and be the backup for Saturday’s wild-card playoff game against the Houston Texans. The Raiders just chose to go with Cook.

But it was clear in the first half that the Raiders weren’t going to win with Cook. He was 4-of-14 for 41 yards and an interception at halftime. That’s a 9.8 rating. The Raiders took their shot that Cook might be lightning in a bottle, it was obvious he wasn’t, and at that point turning to McGloin made sense. The Texans led just 20-7; it wasn’t like the game was over.

The change never happened. Cook finished the game, the Raiders lost 27-14, and never had a chance with a rookie making his first career start in a road playoff game. That’s not even Cook’s fault, he was given an assignment that was beyond challenging.

Why, with the season on the line and a rookie struggling badly, did head coach Jack Del Rio not give the veteran backup McGloin a chance to turn things around?

“I asked at halftime, and the coaches really felt like there were other things that were kind of contributing and that it wasn’t going to be a big change with a change at quarterback,” Del Rio said. “So we stayed the course with that.”

Del Rio then talked about Cook getting experience, which is a hidden positive and all, but not exactly a priority in a playoff game.

Del Rio is right that factors other than Cook contributed to the offensive problems. Receivers dropped passes. The line struggled without injured left tackle Donald Penn, and then it lost center Rodney Hudson to injury too.

But Cook didn’t play well. He was 18-of-45 for 161 yards, with three interceptions. McGloin was healthy enough to be the backup, and a play away from entering the game. Del Rio told ESPN’s Adam Schefter at halftime that he considered a change. The Raiders drafted Cook in May, they had minicamps, training camp and a full regular season to evaluate the two quarterbacks, and before the Broncos game they had McGloin ahead of Cook the entire time.

Instead, Cook stayed in and threw 45 times, which Del Rio said wasn’t the game plan. He said they wanted to throw 20-25 times and maybe run 45 times. That wasn’t possible after falling behind by multiple scores. Cook ended up in an impossible spot.

“I mean, it was his first start, on the road, in a playoff game, against the No. 1 ranked defense,” Del Rio said. “It was a tough draw for him. We had hopes that we’d be able to do enough around him that he wouldn’t be asked to do as much.”

The Raiders probably weren’t going to win on Saturday with McGloin playing the second half. But it was strange why they never tried.