San Francisco 49ers v Las Vegas Raiders
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The Las Vegas Raiders are re-evaluating the quarterback position and are on the doorstep of a seismic shift under center this offseason. The club elected to bench longtime starter Derek Carr for the final two weeks of the season and it's widely believed that he has played his last game for the organization, meaning Las Vegas will be looking for a new franchise quarterback for the first time since 2014. 

While that hunt will likely expand across the NFL this offseason, they did get a look at one of the in-house options on Sunday against the 49ers in Jarrett Stidham. And the 26-year-old may have opened some eyes even in defeat. 

In the 37-34 overtime loss to San Francisco, Stidham played well, throwing for 365 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. Those three passing touchdowns are tied for the most by a quarterback making his first NFL start in Raiders history. He also added 34 yards on the ground. 

Stidham didn't waste much time going at arguably the best defense in the NFL, leading a six-play, 70-yard touchdown drive on the opening possession of the game that ended with a 24-yard pass to Darren Waller. 

Stidham then had back-to-back drives wrapped around halftime that resulted in touchdowns to Davante Adams. 

With Las Vegas trailing by a touchdown with just over two minutes to play in regulation, Stidham helped lead a 75-yard touchdown drive in just three plays to knot the game at 34 with 1:11 on the clock. That possession included a 21-yard pass to Mack Hollins that brought the offense to midfield and then a 45-yard throw to Adams, who made a remarkable diving catch. 

While his play helped force overtime, Stidham didn't have enough magic left in the tank to fully pull off the upset. On the initial drive in overtime, he threw an interception that San Francisco was able to return 56 yards and help set up the game-winning field goal, dropping the Raiders to 6-10 on the year. 

That wasn't the best finish for Stidham in his debut, but he went toe-to-toe with one of the top teams in the NFC and didn't look like someone making his first start in the league. 

Stidham came into the NFL as a fourth-round draft choice of the Patriots back in 2019 out of Baylor. He spent the first three seasons of his career in New England before being traded to Las Vegas this offseason as the two clubs swapped Day 3 draft picks. This move kept Stidham united with former Pats offensive coordinator and current Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels, so he's been quite familiar with the offense he just conducted for a while and it certainly showed in Week 17.