New quarterback. The same Las Vegas raiders.

The first week of the new Aidan O’Connell era began Sunday, a week after Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce benched starting quarterback Gardner Minshew. The result for the Raiders was familiar frustration as the Pittsburgh Steelers rolled to a 32-13 blowout in Las Vegas.

The Raiders committed numerous errors during the game, including an interception, a fumble on the goal line, a blocked punt and a passer penalty that negated an interception and extended a Steelers touchdown drive.

The loss leaves the Raiders at 2-4 in a season already in turmoil.

O’Connell, who started 10 games as a rookie in 2023, made his first start at quarterback on Sunday in an effort to spark a turnaround. Gardner Minshew won the job earlier in the preseason, replacing O’Connell for the first five games of 2024.

Pierce benched Minshew last Sunday after his second interception in a 34-18 loss to the Denver Broncos. On Wednesday, he named O’Connell the team’s starting quarterback.

Sunday got off to a great start for the Raiders as O’Connell led them to a touchdown on their opening drive for a 7-3 lead. But from then on, a spiral of mistakes ensured that Pittsburgh would take the game away.

With Las Vegas ahead, 7-6 in the second quarter, Steelers linebacker TJ Watt knocked the ball out and forced a fumble from rookie running back Dylan Laube.

The fumble occurred on Laube’s first career carry. The Steelers recovered and converted the turnover into a go-ahead touchdown for a 12-7 lead before halftime.

The Raiders nearly committed a turnover of their own on the Steelers’ ensuing possession. But a passing penalty on defensive tackle Matthew Butler negated a Justin Fields interception. Six plays later, the Steelers scored the touchdown to go into halftime with the lead.

The Raiders’ first possession of the second half ended with more disaster. This time, Steelers linebacker Jeremiah Moon blocked AJ Cole’s kick to take over possession for Pittsburgh inside the Las Vegas 10-yard line.

The Steelers converted the best field position into a field goal for a 15-7 lead and then scored a touchdown on their next possession to extend the lead to 22-7.

The Raiders had a chance to cut their deficit to one possession in the fourth quarter with a third-and-goal from the 1-yard line. But Watt came up big again, this time forcing an Ameer Abdullah fumble on the goal line.

The Steelers recovered and ended hopes of a Raiders rally in the fourth quarter.

The Raiders doubled down on their next possession with an O’Connell interception that returned Donte Jackson to the Las Vegas 7-yard line.

The Raiders converted that turnover into a touchdown to extend their lead to 29-7 with 7:16 remaining.

When the game ended, the Raiders had committed three turnovers and forced none. They treated the fans to a second double-digit defeat in three home games.

As for the quarterback change, O’Connell completed 27 of 40 passes for 227 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The loss certainly cannot be attributed to him. But the change at quarterback did the Raiders no favors.