In what was a rather humiliating night in front of a national audience against the Dallas Cowboys, the Las Vegas Raiders also performed one of the most unusual plays that fans have seen. In fact, based on a small bit of research, this play type may have only occurred one other time in NFL history.
Las Vegas was trailing 31-16 in the fourth quarter, and after a botched punt return, they were backed up against their own goal line. As was the tale of the night, the interior offensive line caved in on itself, and running back Ashton Jeanty was tackled in the end zone for a safety.
Then, chaos ensued. Dallas now led by three possessions, and the Raiders needed to get the ball back with just under 12 minutes left to play. So, head coach Pete Carroll called for an onside attempt on the safety kick, which amounted to nothing and just looked plain bizarre.
Raiders' bizarre play against Cowboys is now drawing even more scrutiny
What happened was that punter A.J. Cole kicked a skyball to the Cowboys' return team, and George Pickens fielded the football cleanly and slid out of bounds immediately. Neither team looked like they had a good grip on the situation, and the details surrounding this play are even more fuzzy.
According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, the Raiders actually could have caught this onside kick/punt at the 35-yard line because Pickens, who Pelissero said signaled for the fair catch, was at the 40-yard line. Therefore, Las Vegas would not have been called for interference.
Are you lost yet?
There are a few peculiar things about this report, however. One, Pickens never signaled for a fair catch, but seemingly everyone else on the Cowboys' return unit did. However, Pickens himself never got his arm above his head and waved it back and forth, as the NFL rules state he must.
It seems like, based on our interpretation of the NFL rules, the Raiders had a legitimate shot to recover this. Because a safety kick is under the umbrella of a "free kick" like kickoffs and not a "scrimmage kick" like punts or field goals, a fair catch shouldn't apply, and Las Vegas had a chance to snag the ball after it landed.
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Regardless of how you slice it, the Raiders just looked unprepared for this play. On the one hand, if Dallas could just fair catch, then it was a futile effort by Las Vegas anyway. But if the Raiders had the opportunity to field the ball and did not capitalize on their chance, then that is even worse.
Carroll was asked about this unusual play during his Tuesday media availability. The veteran head coach assured reporters that this is a play that the team practices frequently, and made no assertions that they misplayed it.
"We actually almost did it exactly right. It was close. It was a great kick that gave us a chance," Carroll said. "Yeah, we have done it. We've done it consistently throughout. It's been ready. The kickers work on the kick and all that every week. We wouldn't have done it if we didn't feel like we had a chance."
It is a bit ironic that such a niche and technical special teams play occurred just a week after firing special teams coordinator Tom McMahon. With Derius Swinton II in his place, it was a bold move for Carroll to attempt what almost feels like a loophole in the NFL rules.
Recovering this ball would not have been the difference in the game, as the Raiders' offense was so anemic that scoring three more times seemed impossible. But it would have been momentous, and weirdly, given the fan base a boost to see the team take advantage of such a distinctive play.
Fans should expect some sort of explanation or clarification from the NFL office, because there is quite a bit of confusion surrounding how this all went down. But in the meantime, based on the available information, it seems like Carroll and Co. didn't play things correctly.