The Las Vegas Raiders had plenty of chances to knock off the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday and pull off one of the biggest upsets of this NFL season. After the Chiefs controlled the game for much of the first half, the Raiders stormed back with a pair of touchdowns in span of just a few minutes to take a 17-16 lead.
After Kansas City took a late lead on a field goal by Matthew Wright — the Chiefs’ third kicker in as many weeks — the Raiders marched right back into scoring position. However, Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson missed a long field goal that would have given Las Vegas the lead.
After the Raiders got the ball back, quarterback Aidan O’Connell drove the Raiders back into field goal range with a chance to win. However, with the clock winding down, center Jackson Powers-Johnson snapped the ball before O’Connell was ready for it and the Chiefs recovered the loose ball.
After the game, fans around the NFL couldn’t believe how the Raiders blew the game.
“There’s some things in football, that only happen with the Jets, Bears and Raiders… we just saw another example of what I’m talking about,” one fan posted on X, formerly Twitter. Another added, “What was Pierce thinking having his offense on the field with 15 sec left and 0 time outs. Ridiculous. Kick the FG right then and there.”
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Carlson has traditionally been one of the best kickers in the NFL during his career with the Raiders, but Friday was one of the worst days of his entire career. The two-time All Pro had only missed two field goals all season long coming into this one, knocking down 22 out of his 24 attempts. His 1-for-4 day against the Chiefs cost the Raiders dearly.
One silver lining for Antonio Pierce and company was the performance of O’Connell. The young quarterback looked comfortable in relief of the injured Gardner Minshew and didn’t show much rust in his first start since fracturing his thumb and landing on IR. O’Connell thrived late in the game and finished 23-for-35 with 340 yards and two touchdowns.
It will be hard to look at such a big missed opportunity in a positive light, but a performance like that from the quarterback should give the team and its fans hope that it can be competitive over the rest of the season.
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Aidan O'Connell still has plenty to prove in his young NFL career, but he certainly looked the part of a franchise quarterback on Friday afternoon at Arrowhead
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