Week 13 of the NFL came close to delivering the first upset of the day, as the Las Vegas Raiders were on the verge of pulling off a major win against the defending champions, the Kansas City Chiefs lead by Patrick Mahomes, at Arrowhead Stadium. Aidan O’Connell, quarterback for Antonio Pierce‘s team, made it clear how he felt about what could have been a pleasant surprise for the league.
The final score was 19-17 in favor of Andy Reid’s team. Although the game was very close, the home team didn’t face many major challenges throughout the match. The Raiders could have pulled off the big upset of the day, but key mistakes on crucial plays left them empty-handed.
Aidan O’Connell took over the starting role after Gardner Minshew’s tough injury last weekend, and he didn’t hide from his responsibility after the game where his team came very close to beating the Chiefs.
“It’s completely my fault,” O’Connell said. “I was looking out to the right making sure guys were set, and I started clapping. In my head, I was thinking signal the ball to get the ball, but when I start clapping, it basically tells Jackson to snap the ball.”
"There's really nobody to blame but myself." Aidan O'Connell says the final play was "completely my fault" and that he clapped too early which led to the botched snap. #Raiders
“Jackson did exactly what he should’ve done. 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,” O’Connell finally concluded.
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The mistake on the final key play of the game
The Raiders currently hold one of the worst records in the league with ten losses and only two wins so far this season. However, they gave a strong fight to the current two-time NFL champions and even could have won the game in the final moments.
The player who lamented the decisive play was none other than cornerback Jackson Powers-Johnson, who couldn’t quite sync up with O’Connell. Both took responsibility for the situation. This was reported by Tashaan Reid through his X (formerly Twitter) account @tashaanreid.
“Raiders C Jackson Powers-Johnson said it was a miscommunication on the final offensive play. He thought O’Connell was calling for the snap, but he wasn’t. He shouldered the blame. ‘We didn’t come up short,’ Powers-Johnson said, ‘I came up short.’“
Las Vegas Raiders running back Sincere McCormick (28) is tackled by Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton (32) on November 29th, 2024 at GEHA Field Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
Las Vegas Raiders upcoming games
- vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers, December 8th
- vs Atlanta Falcons, December 16th
- vs Jacksonville Jaguars, December 22nd
- vs New Orleans Saints, December 29th
- vs Los Angeles Chargers, January 5th
