Graney: Brian Hoyer did what he was supposed to do — not mess up

But even ugly needs a winner, and the Raiders complied Sunday, beating the Patriots 21-17 at an Allegiant Stadium that finally appeared to house more fans for the home team than that of the visitors. Hey, it’s progress.

It was during his postgame speech when McDaniels shouted to his team regarding the not-so-pretty win: “We don’t give any fish back!”

This one definitely smelled.

The Raiders won because of their defense.

And because quarterback Brian Hoyer didn’t mess things up.

Fifteen years an NFL veteran and most with these Patriots, Hoyer played the second half upon starter Jimmy Garoppolo going down (and to the hospital) with a back injury. That makes six quarters in six games Garoppolo has now missed. His injury-prone ways have definitely returned. It’s an issue.

Almost as much as the red-zone offense.

Not forcing things

It all meant Hoyer had to do everything in his power to make enough plays so that the team’s defense — can you believe we’re saying this? — could again prove to be the difference.

And he did. And it did.

“It was just about completing balls I saw, and the fact the defense was doing such a great job, it gave me confidence to not try and force things or do anything outside my abilities,” said Hoyer, who finished 6 of 10 for 102 yards. “I wasn’t going to let (New England) touch the ball. Just don’t put our defense on a short field or in a bad situation.”

This is why you have Hoyer as the backup over rookie Aidan O’Connell on a week Garoppolo receives all first-team snaps. O’Connell was the correct choice to start against the Chargers on Oct. 1, but that was when a concussion was always going to keep Garoppolo out.

You needed to see what you had in O’Connell with a full week’s worth of work under him.

Not when he has little preparation time.

How things move forward if Garoppolo is out for an extended period is anyone’s guess, but I’m thinking Hoyer would start a winnable game Sunday at Chicago. The Raiders are 3-3. Suddenly, the doom and gloom of a 1-3 start has turned to positive vibes.

“Obviously, there is more progress to be made,” McDaniels said. “Nobody has qualified for anything at this point. We’re six games in. Everybody else is, too. We have a long ways to go.”

It’s the first time his team has scored at least 20 points this season, and it took a safety in the closing seconds to secure that. The Raiders managed one touchdown in six trips to the red zone. You can get away with that and win against the Patriots. You can’t against several upcoming opponents.

Holding penalty. Dropped passes. Inability to run the ball in close. Interception off a crushing hit to wide receiver Davante Adams. Incompletions. Another holding penalty.

Not changing much

The Raiders managed a plethora of bad when driving into the field’s most important area. But what didn’t happen was Hoyer trying to do too much. If a throw wasn’t there, he didn’t make it. If it was even close, he threw it away. He played the veteran’s role.

It’s all the Raiders needed him to be and then some.

“I don’t think we changed that much up,” rookie tight end Michael Mayer said. “We have tons of trust in (Hoyer), so it’s not like you’re going to change up your whole game plan just because Jim went down.”

Can we all pause for a second and enjoy the fact he called Garoppolo “Jim.”

And agree that this was hardly the prettiest of games.

But winning in the NFL isn’t about catch and release. You keep all fish.

And hope your veteran backup does the job against his former team.

Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on X.