This may be hard to believe but the Kansas City Chiefs found another bizarre way to win a game with the latest controversial ending coming against the Las Vegas Raiders. Black Friday's match-up between the two AFC West foes looked like every other Chiefs game with the game coming down to the wire.
The Raiders had KC on the ropes and were driving down the field trying to win at Arrowhead on a holiday (well, ish) for the second straight year. That's when the madness happened.
The Raiders had advanced the ball to the Chiefs' 32-yard line and Aidan O'Connell was attempting to set up the game-winning kick. Disaster struck in that moment when Jackson Powers-Johnson snapped the ball too early. O'Connell couldn't grab the ball but unfortunately, the Chiefs could and were able to run out the clock and escape with a victory once again.
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It'd have been easy for O'Connell to throw either the officials or his center under the bus but he didn't do that. The Raiders quarterback took full responsibility for the wonky loss, noting that the turnover was on him.
"It's completely my fault. I was looking out to the right making sure guys were set, and I started clapping. In my head, I was thinking signal the ball to get the ball, but when I start clapping, it basically tells Jackson to snap the ball."
"Jackson did exactly what he should've done. I clapped too early. That's just how the football bounces sometimes; it didn't go our way. Super tough, but there's really nobody to blame but myself. That's probably the hardest part to swallow."
Aidan O'Connell said the Raiders latest loss was on him
Again, O'Connell easily could have gone up to the podium and put this loss on his center or the officials or even on his coach but he didn't do that. It's not always a given that quarterbacks are going to accept responsibility for losses but O'Connell did just that even though this loss wasn't on him in the slightest.
Yes, the ending of the game was frustrating but the Raiders had opportunities to put the Chiefs away and couldn't do it. Daniel Carlson missed three field goals, which took nine points off the board for Vegas. The opportunities were there to ice the game but the Raiders continued to show why they're a two-win team.
At least we can praise O'Connell for taking the blame here and not taking the dramatic route of pointing blame at his coaches or teammates. O'Connell likely won't be the starting quarterback for the Raiders in 2025 but he's shown why this team liked him in the first place.