With three seconds left in Las Vegas on Sunday, the game between the Raiders and Patriots looked set to definitely go into overtime, but it didn’t. Instead, the game ended regularity after the Raiders pulled off one of the wildest game-winning touchdowns in NFL history when Chandler Jones hit a defensive TD from 58 yards on the final play of the game to give Vegas a 30-24 win.
The drama began with the Patriots standing on their One 45 and typically facing a third-and-10 with just three seconds left. At that point, Bill Belichick could have called for a kneel, which would have sent the game into overtime, but instead the Patriots opted to hand the ball to Rhamondre Stevenson. After the ball ran nearly 25 yards, the Patriots running back decided to play the ball sideways to Jakobi Meyers, who then ran backwards 10 yards before attempting to play the ball sideways to Mac Jones.
The problem for the Patriots is that Meyers’ cross was intercepted by Chandler Jones, who immediately ran for 58 yards for the game-winning score. You know what? This piece is way too crazy for words, so let’s just check it out.
What you’re watching might be the craziest walkoff touchdown in NFL history. Although Chandler Jones “intercepted” the pass, it goes into the scorebook as a fiddly recovery for a touchdown because he came back from the side.
The game was a total meltdown for the Patriots, who should NOT have played the ball sideways. The only time a team should lateralize the ball is when they are behind in the last play and have no other choice. There was no reason for the Patriots to play the ball sideways as the game was a tie.
Of course, the Patriots could usually have won this game if they could have made a defensive stop in the last two minutes. With 2:11 left and New England leading 24-17, the Raiders took over with their own 19 without timeouts and needed 81 yards for a game-winning touchdown.
That TD came nine games later when Derek Carr hit Keelan Cole for a controversial 30-yard score that tied the game. On at least one replay, Cole’s toe appeared off, but the replay crew decided there was insufficient evidence to overturn the touchdown.
After the TD, the Patriots took over from their own 25-yard line with two timeouts. New England then drove 20 yards from the ill-fated endgame that’s instantly part of the Raiders’ lore.