Connor Cook’s first NFL start will come in the Raiders’ biggest game of the season.
On Wednesday, the team announced that Cook would start Saturday’s Wild Card playoff game vs the Texans. That’s because last week’s starter, Matt McGloin, suffered a left shoulder injury in Oakland's regular-season finale against the Broncos that forced him out of the game late in the second quarter.
That’s when Cook took over with Oakland trailing 17-0 at halftime, and he would finish 14-of-21 passing for 150 yards, one touchdown, one interception and a lost fumble.
Considering that came against the NFL’s No. 1 pass defense, it wasn’t too shabby for a rookie seeing his first NFL action. It won’t get much easier, however, with the Texans sporting the league’s No. 1 total defense.
Cook was inactive in Oakland’s first 15 games while McGloin and normal starter Derek Carr were the two active quarterbacks. But now Carr is out with a broken fibula, and now McGloin is dealing with a shoulder injury. That’s propelled Cook from third-stringer to playoff starter in the span of two weeks.
That’s life in the NFL for ya. Hopefully, Cook makes the most of it and shows he can be a starting quarterback in this league. He’ll certainly have to for Oakland to win in Houston this weekend.