Entering Sunday Night Football, the Pittsburgh Steelers were sitting pretty to clinch the final playoff spot in the AFC. The only thing that could have kept them out would be the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers tying. Yet, in what was one of the most incredible finishes to an NFL regular season in history, that's exactly what we almost saw.
In the closing seconds of overtime and the ball near midfield, Carr and the Raiders appeared to be willing to run the clock out. Inexplicably Chargers head coach Brandon Staley called timeout with 38 seconds remaining. The Raiders ended up getting into field goal range and kicked a game-winning field goal as time expired.
After the game, Derek Carr was asked whether or not the timeout from the Chargers impacted the Raiders philosophy, and his response says it all.
Derek Carr said the Chargers calling timeout “definitely” changed the Raiders endgame strategy.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) January 10, 2022
After the surprising timeout, the Raiders ran off tackle to the outside and picked up a big gain. That led to Daniel Carlson's 47-yard field goal, sending the Raiders to the postseason and the Chargers home.
Despite the long odds of a tie, this game was so very close. The Chargers shot themselves in the foot time after time. Penalties, turnovers, missed field goals, all worked against Los Angeles.
Yet, Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert brought his team back from down 15 with under six minutes remaining. They picked up first downs on five separate 4th and 10 situations. That is flat out insanity. It left Steelers fans and NFL fans around the world feeling like they might have a heart attack.
It is sad that it came down to yet another coaching mistake from the Chargers.
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