How the Raiders threw away a golden opportunity to beat the Chiefs in the final seconds
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Through the first six plays of what could have been the game-winning drive, nothing could go wrong for the Las Vegas Raiders. The Kansas City Chiefs jumped offside on the first play of the possession, and then quarterback Aidan O’Connell completed five passes in a row to move the Raiders to the Chiefs’ 32-yard line.
The Raiders trailed 19-17 when O’Connell spiked the ball with 15 seconds left in regulation, but they looked well on their way to pulling off an unlikely upset. However, the next click would make everything crumble.
When the Raiders broke up their rally with nine seconds left on the play clock, O’Connell clapped his hands as a signal for his teammates to quickly line up. With six seconds left on the clock, O’Connell stopped clapping and looked to his right to communicate with receiver Tre Tucker. When he looked to his left to do the same to receiver Jakobi Meyers, the ball was snapped. The ball bounced off his bicep, bounced around the field and rebounded off right tackle DJ Glaze and into the waiting arms of Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton.
The Raiders figure it out, the Chiefs get it back to seal the game ‼️#LVvsKC on PrimeVideo
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Thus, the Raiders went from being in a winning position to staring at their eighth straight loss. All Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes had to do from that point on was run out the clock to drop Las Vegas to 2-10 on the season.
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Chiefs survive vs. Raiders after critical failed snap from Las Vegas: Takeaways
The Raiders’ fumble to seal the game was the result of miscommunication. Immediately after O’Connell finished punching, right guard Dylan Parham tapped rookie center Jackson Powers-Johnson. In the three games they have played alongside each other, there have been times when Parham has done so as a signal for Powers-Johnson to get the ball. (It happened just last week against the Denver Broncos.) So Powers-Johnson snapped the ball, even though O’Connell wasn’t looking for it.
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During his post-match press conference, O’Connell took the blame for his clapping, which can be used as a cue to snap the ball if the crowd is too loud for a verbal cue.
“The clock was running out. I was trying to get the guys lined up,” O’Connell said. “It’s completely my fault. …Jackson did exactly what he should have done. … And then it’s just the way the football bounces sometimes. It didn’t go our way. It’s super tough, but I have no one to blame but myself. That’s probably the hardest part to swallow.”
Powers-Johnson, meanwhile, said He was to blame for the accident.
“I thought he called for the snap and I snapped the ball,” Powers-Johnson said. “I have to be better in that situation. We were about to beat a great team. That miscommunication cannot happen. I take full responsibility. I’m going to take that loss.”
Parham did not speak to reporters in the locker room, but Powers-Johnson refused to force him to do so. The rookie didn’t think the noise should have been a factor.
“We didn’t come up short,” Powers-Johnson said. “I came up short.”
Chiefs defenders signal after recovering from a clumsy Raiders snap late in the fourth quarter. (Denny Medley / Image Images)
The truth is that O’Connell, Powers-Johnson and Parham all contributed to the fumble that ended the Raiders’ upset bid. But what also requires scrutiny is head coach Antonio Pierce’s decision-making.
It appeared the Raiders were trying to make a quick play to close the distance for kicker Daniel Carlson. It would have been a 50-yarder if they had kicked off the Chiefs’ 32-yard line. Although Carlson is a former All-Pro who has made more than 30 field goals of 50 or more yards during his career, he had already missed three kicks Friday – from 56, 55 and 58 yards. It would have made sense to try to make his last attempt easier.
Surprisingly, that wasn’t the Raiders’ plan.
“We wanted to throw the ball away and waste another four or five seconds and kick the field goal,” Pierce said.
If that was the intention, the Raiders should simply have waited longer to spike the ball after O’Connell completed running back Ameer Abdullah. Making another play opened the door to unnecessary risks, such as O’Connell being sacked or picking off a deflected pass. A botched snap can always happen, of course, but there is a greater chance of error when releasing the shotgun compared to being below center, which is what O’Connell did at the spike. Pierce’s decision to make another play ultimately helped open the door for the fumble that cost the Raiders the game.
Another controversial element of the game was that a penalty was awarded. One referee appeared to run in from the sideline and signal for a false start penalty against the Raiders, but the foul was turned into an illegal shift. The Raiders players and coaches protested the change because a false start is a dead ball penalty and they heard one official call the play dead, and therefore the fumble would not have counted. But the illegal shift call allowed the play to continue, so the Chiefs simply denied the penalty and the fumble was upheld.
A clearly frustrated Pierce refused to answer when asked to share the explanation he received from the officials.
The officials confirmed an illegal foul shift, but the Chiefs recovered the back pass.#BlackFridayNFL pic.twitter.com/9nM9AF0tZa
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“It is what it is,” Raiders defenseman Maxx Crosby said. “You can’t control everything. Things happen. It is disappointing to say the least.”
The Athletics contacted the NFL after the game to clarify the referee’s ruling on the play. NFL senior vice president of football and international communications Michael Signora responded via email.
“If the clock had run in the blink of an eye, an illegal shift would generally have turned into a false start,” Signora wrote. “Since the clock was stopped (due to the spike in the second game), an illegal shift is a live ball foul.”
A false start is called when a player moves illegally after lining up but before the ball is struck. The Raiders were called for an illegal shift because the ball was snapped before they lined up. According to the letter of the rule, the referees made the right decision.
The disastrous ending to Friday’s game will overshadow the fact that the Raiders put together a valiant effort against the back-to-back defending Super Bowl champions. O’Connell threw for a career-high 340 yards after a five-week absence due to a broken thumb. Running back Sincere McCormick continued to spark a previously dormant ground game and averaged 5.3 yards per carry. Tight end Brock Bowers had another sensational performance with 10 catches for 140 yards and a touchdown. Receiver Jakobi Meyers had six catches for 97 yards, and fellow wideout Tre Tucker added a score of 58 yards. The defense harassed Mahomes all game, sacking him five times and largely keeping the Chiefs offense in check. Abdullah excelled as a returner. That collective effort brought them to the brink of victory.
“They fought to the end,” Pierce said. “All three phases at some point contributed to putting us in that position.”
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As the reality of the loss became clear, it remained difficult for Crosby to accept.
“I don’t know how to explain it,” the three-time Pro Bowler said. “You can’t describe it. It’s so disappointing for the guys because everyone there is literally putting their lives on the line. … We’re 13.5-point underdogs that no one believes they can go in there and win, and we had a good handle on them. It’s disappointing, but I’m so proud of my teammates.”
Pierce instilled confidence in the Raiders during his nine games as interim head coach last year, but his first full season on the job was marked by the team consistently finding ways to let winning games slip away. While there is no doubt about their determination, results must improve at some point.
“I’m proud of my team,” Pierce said. “The record is what it is, but this is a team that is proud and plays for each other. There is no stopping. It is not possible to lower their head or lower their chin.
“But I don’t want to keep saying that after losing, right? We just have to keep fighting. They have some free time, and we regroup. But there is one thing I am not going to take away from you: the commitment, the pride and the way they fought.”
(Photo: David Eulitt/Getty Images)
