text: In Week 5, Pryor found himself once again at the helm and the Raiders responded against the San Diego Chargers. He threw two touchdowns in the first quarter and completed his first ten passes. Following an early interception against Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers, Pryor responded with a 44-yard touchdown strike to wideout Rod Streater. The second touchdown pass came on a two-yard pass to wideout Denarius Moore, which gave Oakland a 14–0 lead. In the second quarter, Pryor helped guide the Raiders to a field goal, which gave his team its first 17–0 lead at home since 2002. In the second half, both Pryor and the Raiders struggled as the Chargers came back to cut the lead to 24–17. Late in the fourth quarter, Pryor turned what looked to be an easy sack on third down into a 20-yard completion to Brice Butler, which led to a 50-yard field goal and sealed a 27–17 Raiders victory. His 135.7 passer rating versus San Diego marked the highest-rated game by a Raiders quarterback since Rich Gannon's 138.9 rating against the Tennessee Titans on September 29, 2002.
  Pryor was sacked 10 times in a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 6; he also threw three interceptions in the game. He finished 18 of 34 for 216 yards and a touchdown pass to Denarius Moore.
  In Week 8 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pryor opened the game with a 93-yard run for touchdown, the longest in NFL history for a quarterback. It was also the longest run of any player in Raiders history. The previous record for Oakland was a 92-yarder set by Bo Jackson on November 5, 1989. Pryor finished with nine carries for 106 yards and 10 of 19 passing for 88 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
  In Week 9 on November 10, Pryor was injured in a 24–20 loss to the New York Giants and was sidelined with a sprained MCL. Having had his passing production dip for four games and then being hampered by a right knee sprain limiting his movement in the pocket, in November 24 game against the Tennessee Titans, he was activated to play, but was relegated to backup quarterback behind Matt McGloin. He returned as the starter in the regular season finale against the Denver Broncos.