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Aidan O'Connell was blamed for a botched snap in the Kansas City Chiefs' 19-17 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders. But, Raiders coach
Antonio Pierce
, believes the officiating contributed to the team's critical error. O'Connell couldn't catch an early snap, and Las Vegas was penalized for an illegal shift, moving the club out of field-goal range and turning the ball over to the Chiefs.
Antonio Pierce reveals the team heard a whistle during their game against the Chiefs
The Las Vegas Raiders were confused on their sideline during a crucial play in their 19-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. A botched snap from rookie center Jackson Powers-Johnson was recovered by the Chiefs to end the Raiders' potential game-winning drive and give Kansas City its 11th win of the season.
Pierce also told reporters that the Raiders plan to send video of the final play to the NFL for review. "Yeah, I mean, like we normally do, we do that every game," Pierce said [via ESPN's Paul Gutierrez]. "Typically, [we'll send] anywhere from three to five questions and then we'll get a letter within 24 to 36 hours & we'll read it and learn from it.”
Chiefs coach Andy Reid declined a penalty for an illegal shift violation on Las Vegas, even though there was a whistle that the Raiders' sideline heard that would have stopped the play and given the ball back to Las Vegas. "Had the clock been running at the snap, then by rule an illegal shift would convert to a false start," a league spokesman said, via The Athletic. "Since the clock was stopped (from O'Connell's spike the previous play), an illegal shift is a live ball foul.”
Pierce believes a dead ball whistle was blown, but players didn't mention it in media postgame sessions. Powers-Johnson and O'Connell took full responsibility for the premature snap. "Jackson did exactly what he should've done," O'Connell said. "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.”
Also Read: The Chiefs secured their first 2024 goal by winning a playoff spot with a 19-17 victory over the Raiders
At the end of the day, it's too little, too late for the Raiders, who fell to 2-10 on the season with the loss. The Raiders, currently on an eight-game losing streak, will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.
