Jarrett Stidham stepped into the spotlight this week with the Las Vegas Raiders opting to bench starting quarterback Derek Carr. And the former New England Patriots draftee made the most of his first career start.
Facing arguably the league's best defense in Week 17, Stidham efficiently and impressively worked for the better part of four quarters against the San Francisco 49ers.
Stidham completed 15 of his first 20 passes with three touchdowns and 222 yards through the air. During the first half, Stidham had a 149.4 passer rating as he completed 11 of his 14 passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns.
His third touchdown pass of the day and second to wideout Davante Adams featured some impressive quarterback play. Stidham stepped up in the pocket to avoid 49ers pass rusher Nick Bosa, bought time as he escaped to his left, stood tall despite a pair of San Francisco defenders zeroing in on him, took a shot from those aforementioned defenders and delivered a ball some 30 yards down field to Adams. The wide-open receiver took the ball 35 yards untouched to extended the Raiders' lead.
Stidham's first touchdown pass to Adams was rather noteworthy, too. He perfectly floated a pass to the back corner of the end zone as Adams beat single coverage and hauled it in for a 4-yard touchdown.
And that came after Stidham's first touchdown of the game to tight end Darren Waller. On that play, Stidham faked a handoff to Josh Jacobs, rolled to the right and threw a nice ball on the run. The play not only converted a third-and-2 but accounted for a 24-yard touchdown.
It's fair to note that Stidham did throw an interception on the second play of the fourth quarter, which was tipped at the line of scrimmage and hauled in behind the line of scrimmage. The 49ers used the turnover to tie the game 24-all in the fourth.
Nevertheless, only Stidham and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes have thrown for three touchdowns against the 49ers defense this season.
The Patriots drafted Stidham in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He played in eight games for New England but never earned a start. The Patriots traded Stidham to the Raiders this offseason with veteran Brian Hoyer expected to serve as the second-string behind Mac Jones before rookie Bailey Zappe ultimately took over that role.
