KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A lot went down in the last 15 seconds of the Las Vegas Raiders‘ heartbreaking 19-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday — all of it bad for the visitors, who dropped their eighth straight game to fall to 2-10 on the season.
Las Vegas was on the verge of upsetting the Chiefs, who were 13½-point favorites on ESPN BET. After spiking the ball at the Kansas City 32-yard line with 16 seconds left, the Raiders had a third-and-3 and were already well within place-kicker Daniel Carlson‘s range. Carlson, though, already had missed three field goal attempts in the game from 56, 55 and 58 yards.
Still, Raiders coach Antonio Pierce wanted to run one more play — a pass to be thrown away so that Las Vegas, which was out of timeouts, could eat more time off the clock before giving the ball back to the Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Instead, disaster struck for the Raiders.
With the Raiders lined up in shotgun and the play clock at 4 seconds, rookie center Jackson Powers-Johnson — after being tapped by right guard Dylan Parham — snapped the ball to an unaware Aidan O’Connell, and the ball bounced off the quarterback’s upper right arm.
Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton recovered the fumble, and that’s when confusion ensued.
Flags flew, and at least one official signaled a false start, which would have nullified the play and maintained possession for the Raiders. Still, they would have lost 5 yards, making it third-and-8 with no timeouts and a potential 55-yard field goal attempt.
Instead, after a brief huddle, referee Clay Martin announced the penalty against the Raiders was for an illegal shift, which was declined by the Chiefs.
Ballgame.
Powers-Johnson attributed the botched snap to “miscommunication” between himself and O’Connell.
“I thought he was calling for the snap, I snapped the ball,” Powers-Johnson said. “I’ve got to be better in that situation. We’re about to beat a really great team, and those miscommunications can’t happen. So I’m going to take full responsibility and I’m going to put that loss on me.
“We didn’t come up short. I came up short.”
Asked if the noise from the home crowd was a factor on that last play, Powers-Johnson shook his head.
“It shouldn’t be a factor, so s—‘s on me,” he said.
O’Connell, meanwhile, said it was “completely my fault” when describing the play.
“I was looking out to my right to make sure guys were set and I starting clapping to … get the ball,” said O’Connell, who made his first appearance since Oct. 20 because of a broken thumb on his right hand. “When I start clapping, that tells Jackson, basically, ‘Snap the ball.'”
Replays, though, showed O’Connell finished clapping two seconds before Powers-Johnson’s snap. The snap came immediately after Powers-Johnson was tapped by Parham.
It was the first game O’Connell and Powers-Johnson, moved to center from left guard in Week 9, worked together. O’Connell passed for a career-high 340 yards, completing 23 of 35 attempts with two TD passes. He was sacked three times.
“I thought they blew the play dead, so the fumble wouldn’t count,” Powers-Johnson said. “But I guess that wasn’t the case and I kind of lost it and shouldn’t have lost it. I’ve got to keep my composure.”
Said Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby, who had one sack to end his four-game streak without one: “He was [calling false start]. I’m just saying, he was. I don’t know even what they called or whatever they said, but that’s the first thing I saw.”
Crosby said he couldn’t explain why the game ended the way it did.
“You can’t describe it,” he said. “It’s so disappointing for the guys because it’s like everyone out there is literally putting their life on the line. … We’re 13½-point underdogs. Nobody believes we can go in there and win, and we had them f—ing right on the ropes. So disappointing, to say the least. But I’m so proud of my teammates. I’m proud to call them my brothers.”
Pierce declined to comment when asked how the final penalty was called and explained to him. He did, however, say he was “proud” of his team.
“We came up short yet again. That’s the world champs,” Pierce said. “That’s twice now. … The record is what it is, but this is a team that’s prideful, that’s playing for one another. There’s no quit. There’s no putting their head down and chin down.
“I don’t know what you keep saying after losses, right? Keep battling. One thing I’m not going to take away is the effort and the pride and the way they compete.”
