The Raiders were crushed when a botched snap kill upset the bid against the Chiefs

KANSAS CITY — A lot happened in the final 15 seconds of the Las Vegas Raiders’ heartbreaking 19-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday — all bad for the Raiders, who lost their eighth straight game to go 2-10 on the season .

Las Vegas was on the verge of upsetting the Chiefs, who were 13½-point favorites at ESPN Bet. After puffing the ball at the Kansas City 32-yard line with 16 seconds left, the Raiders hit a third-and-3 and were already well within reach of placekicker Daniel Carlson. However, Carlson had already missed three field goals that day from 56, 55 and 58 yards.

Still, Raiders coach Antonio Pierce wanted to make one more play – a pass that would be thrown away so Las Vegas, out of timeouts, could eat up more time on the clock before handing the ball to the Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes returned.

Instead, disaster struck for the Raiders.

With the Raiders lined up at shotgun with the game clock at 4 seconds, rookie center Jackson Powers-Johnson – after being tapped by right guard Dylan Parham – hit the ball to an unsuspecting Aidan O’Connell, who was taken by the Quarterback’s right upper arm rebounded.

Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton was able to make up for the mistake – and confusion ensued.

Flags flew and at least one official signaled a false start that would have nullified the game and given the Raiders possession. Still, they would have lost 5 yards, making it third-and-8 with no timeouts and a possible 55-yard field goal attempt.

Instead, after a brief back-and-forth, referee Clay Martin announced that the penalty against the Raiders had been assessed for an illegal substitution, which was rejected by the Chiefs.

Ball game.

Powers-Johnson attributed the botched snap to “misunderstandings” between him and O’Connell.

“I thought he was going to call for the snap, but I grabbed the ball,” Powers-Johnson said. “I have to be better in this situation. We’re about to beat a really great team and these misunderstandings can’t happen. So I take full responsibility and will blame myself for this loss.” .

“We didn’t fall short. I fell short.”

When asked if the noise from the home crowd played a role in that last game, Powers-Johnson shook his head.

“It shouldn’t be a factor, so it’s up to me,” he said.

O’Connell, however, said it was “totally my fault” when describing the piece.

“I looked to my right to make sure the guys were ready and started clapping to … get the ball,” said O’Connell, making his first appearance since Oct. 20 because he injured his thumb had broken his right hand. “When I start clapping, it basically tells Jackson, ‘Grab the ball.’

However, replays 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 in which O’Connell and Powers-Johnson, who moved from left guard to center in Week 9, worked together. O’Connell passed for a career-high 340 yards and completed 23 of 35 attempts with two TD passes. He was fired three times.

“I thought they blew the game, 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 have to keep my composure.”

Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby, who had a sack to end his four-game streak without a sack, said: “He called a false start. I’m just saying he was. I don’t even know what they called or whatever,” they said, but that was 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 boys because everyone out there is literally putting their lives on the line. … We are 13½ point underdogs. Nobody thinks we can go in there and win and we had them f– “I’m so disappointing to say the least.”

Pierce declined to comment when asked how the latest sentence was imposed and explained to him. However, he said he was “proud” of his team.

“We came up short again. These are the world champions,” Pierce said. “That’s double now. … The record is what it is, but this is a team that takes pride and plays for each other.

“I don’t know what you keep saying after defeats, do you? Keep fighting. One thing I won’t take away from you is the effort, the pride and the way they compete.”