Inside final play vs. Raiders that saved Kansas City Chiefs’ latest wild victory
After the wild play was over, Chris Jones found himself talking to an official: “He said, ‘You all are going to have the ball,’” the Chiefs defensive tackle recalled.
Isiah Pacheco, playing in his first game since Week 2, was on the Chiefs’ sideline talking to fellow running back Kareem Hunt: “’Let’s get ready, if we get the ball,’” Pacheco said of his conversation with Hunt. “And Kareem said, ‘We have the ball.’ I was just super hyped.”
Who among the Chiefs didn’t feel like Pacheco in the final seconds of another wild, improbable conclusion?
This time, the Chiefs’ 19-17 triumph over the Las Vegas Raiders — on Friday afternoon at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium — was sealed not with a walk-off field goal, or blocked field goal, or a tight end catching a TD pass with one foot out of bounds by the length of a toe ...
No, this one’s thanks to alert Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton pouncing on a fumble that resulted from a Raiders shotgun snap gone awry. Las Vegas center Jackson Powers-Johnson snapped the ball while quarterback Aidan O’Connell had his head turned, directing his receivers.
The Raiders started that drive at their own 8-yard line with just 1 minute, 56 seconds remaining in the game and no timeouts. O’Connell masterfully guided the Raiders, a 12 1/2-point underdog, to the brink of what would have been the biggest upset of the season.
The snap occurred on a third-and-3 with 15 seconds left, the ball at the Kansas City 32. Had O’Connell caught and spiked the snap, or thrown the ball out of bounds to burn a few more seconds, Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson would have attempted a 49-yard field goal on fourth down.
The attempt would not have been automatic on a cold afternoon. Earlier in the game, Carlson came up short on a 56-yard attempt and was wide left on a 55-yarder.
Still, the Raiders had put themselves in a position to become the first team to beat the Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead this season, and deny KC a chance to become the first NFL team to clinch a playoff berth.
Instead ... disaster for the Raiders and delight for the Chiefs.
O’Connell shouldered the blame.
“It’s completely my fault,” the Raiders QB said. “I was looking to the right making sure guys were set. When I start clapping, that signals to Jackson snap the ball. I clapped too early. Jackson did exactly what he should have done.”
The fumble wasn’t all that was happening. A flag was thrown, too. Officials huddled and the Raiders were called for an illegal shift.
The Chiefs declined the penalty.
“There was a lot going on,” Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said.
“Chaos,” said Chiefs safety Justin Reid.
“I had no idea what had happened,” Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie said. “I turned and looked and saw Nick Bolton jump on the ball. That’s gotta be game.”
Remarkably, it was. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs’ offense took one knee won their NFL record 14th straight game by one score.
The Chiefs found yet another way to survive a close encounter, and this one clinched their 10th straight season in the playoffs. That’s the second-longest streak in NFL history.
Knowing how to win was a theme in the postgame locker room.
“The thing about a championship team is games like this, where things aren’t perfect, is you’re thankful that you won, but you’ve set a standard,” McDuffie said. “When we have games like this where we don’t feel like we play to the standard that we’ve set it’s always a little disappointing, a little frustrating.
“But the best thing this team does is get back to work. Nobody’s fighting. Nobody’s hanging their head.”