How the Raiders fumbled away a golden opportunity to beat the Chiefs in the final seconds

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For the first six plays of what could’ve 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 were trailing 19-17 when O’Connell spiked the ball with 15 seconds remaining in regulation, but they looked to be well on their way to pulling off an improbable upset. On the next snap, however, everything would crumble.

As the Raiders broke their huddle with nine seconds left on the play clock, O’Connell clapped his hands as a signal for his teammates to line up quickly. 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 with receiver Jakobi Meyers, the ball was snapped. It deflected off his bicep, bounced around on the field and ricocheted off right tackle DJ Glaze into the waiting arms of Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton.

The Raiders fumble it, the Chiefs recover it to seal the game ‼️#LVvsKC on Prime Video
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Just like that, the Raiders went from being in position to win to staring down their eighth straight defeat. All Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes had to do from there was kneel out the clock to knock Las Vegas down to 2-10 on the season.

The Raiders’ game-sealing fumble was a result of miscommunication. Right after O’Connell finished clapping, right guard Dylan Parham tapped rookie center Jackson Powers-Johnson. In their three games playing next to each other, there have been times Parham has done that as a signal for Powers-Johnson to snap 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.

What a WILD ending on Black Friday 👀 pic.twitter.com/JtYRVva6Zy

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During his postgame news conference, O’Connell took the blame for his clapping, which can be used as a sign to snap the ball when the crowd is too loud for a verbal cue.

“The clock was running down. I was trying to get the guys lined up,” O’Connell said. “It’s completely my fault. … Jackson did exactly what he should’ve done. … And then it’s just how the football bounces sometimes. It didn’t go our way. It’s super tough, but there’s really nobody to blame but myself. That’s probably the hardest part to swallow.”

Powers-Johnson, meanwhile, said he was at fault for the mishap.

“I thought he was calling for the snap and I snapped the ball,” Powers-Johnson said. “I’ve got to be better in that situation. We were about to beat a really great team. Those miscommunications can’t happen. I’m taking full responsibility. I’m going to put that loss on me.”

Parham didn’t speak to reporters in the locker room, but Powers-Johnson refused to put it on him. 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.”

The truth is O’Connell, Powers-Johnson and Parham all contributed to the fumble that ended the Raiders’ upset bid. But what also requires examination is the decision-making of head coach Antonio Pierce.

It seemed like the Raiders were attempting to run a quick play to shorten the distance for kicker Daniel Carlson. It would’ve been a 50-yarder if they’d kicked from the Chiefs’ 32-yard line. While Carlson is a former All-Pro who has made over 30 field goals of 50 or more yards throughout his career, he had already missed three kicks short Friday — from 56, 55 and 58 yards. It would’ve made sense to try to make his final attempt easier.

Surprisingly, that wasn’t the Raiders’ plan.

“We were going to throw the ball away and waste four or five more seconds and kick the field goal,” Pierce said.

If that was the intention, then the Raiders should’ve just waited longer to spike the ball after O’Connell’s completion to running back Ameer Abdullah. Running another play opened the door to unnecessary risks such as O’Connell getting sacked or a deflected pass getting picked off. A botched snap can always happen, of course, but there’s a greater chance of error on a snap out of the shotgun compared to being under center, which is what O’Connell did on the spike. Pierce’s decision to run another play ultimately helped open the door for the fumble that cost the Raiders the game.

Another controversial element of the play was that a penalty was called. One referee appeared to run in from the sideline and make the signal for a false-start penalty against the Raiders — but the infraction was changed to 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 whistle the play dead, and therefore the fumble wouldn’t have counted. But the illegal shift call allowed the play to continue, so the Chiefs simply declined the penalty and the fumble was upheld.

A clearly frustrated Pierce declined to answer when asked to share the explanation he got from the referees.

The referees confirm an illegal shift on the offense but the Chiefs recovered the backwards pass.#BlackFridayNFL pic.twitter.com/9nM9AF0tZa

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“It is what it is,” Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby said. “You can’t control everything. (Stuff) happens. It’s disappointing, to say the least.”

The Athletic reached out to the NFL after the game to get clarity on the official’s ruling on the play. NFL senior vice president of football and international communications Michael Signora responded via email.

“Had the clock been running at the snap, then by rule an illegal shift would convert to a false start,” Signora wrote. “Since the clock was stopped (due to the spike on the second-down play), 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 snapped. The Raiders were called for an illegal shift because the ball was snapped before they were lined up. By the letter of the rule, the referees made the correct call.

The disastrous finish to Friday’s game will overshadow the fact the Raiders put forth 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 hauled in a 58-yard score. The defense harassed Mahomes all game long, sacking him five times, and largely held the Chiefs offense in check. Abdullah excelled as a returner. That collective effort had them on the edge of victory.

“They fought their asses off until the end,” Pierce said. “All three phases at some point contributed to help us get into that position.”

As the reality of the loss set in, 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 out there is literally putting their life on the line. … We’re 13.5-point underdogs that nobody believes can go in there and win, and we had ’em right on the ropes. It’s disappointing, but I’m so proud of my teammates.”

Pierce inspired confidence in the Raiders during his nine-game run as interim head coach last year, but his first full season on the job has been defined by the team consistently finding ways to let winnable games slip away. Although there’s no questioning their resolve, the results have to improve at some point.

“I’m proud of my team,” Pierce said. “The record is what it is, but this is a team that’s prideful and that’s playing for one another. There’s no quit. There’s no putting their heads down or their chins down.

“But I don’t want to keep saying that after losses, right? We’ve just got to keep battling. They’ll have some time off, and we’ll regroup. But one thing I’m not going to take away is the effort, the pride and the way they competed.”

(Photo: David Eulitt / Getty Images)