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Originally posted by TTThunder
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1. The conversation around Brandon Staley’s decision to take a timeout with 38 seconds remaining in overtime has been really confounding. I still do not understand what there is to critique. It became a buzz topic in the hours after the game, and as such, a lot of people chimed in with critical takes that were largely misinformed and not based on fact.
This is what actually happened.
With the score tied at 32, the Raiders took over at their own 25 with 4:30 remaining. The next score would win the game. Derek Carr completed a pass to Bryan Edwards for a 17-yard gain off play action on the first play. Carr then kept the possession alive two plays later by hitting Zay Jones on an out route on third-and-8. Asante Samuel Jr. was in coverage. I thought this was Carr’s best throw of the game. Jones clearly went out of bounds with 2:17 left. The clock continued to run, however, down to the two-minute warning. This appeared to be an error by the game clock operator. According to NFL rules, the clock should stop when a ball carrier goes out of bounds inside of five minutes in the fourth quarter or overtime. The only possible explanation is that the referees ruled Jones’ forward progress had been stopped. But I rewatched the TV copy and the game film, and neither official on that sideline signaled for the clock to run.
I digress. This really did not have an impact on the final moments of the game.
After the two-minute warning, the Raiders faced a first down from the Chargers’ 46-yard line. Josh Jacobs was tackled for a loss on a first-down handoff. The clock ran down to 1:22 before the next Raiders snap. Carr was in shotgun and handed off to Jacobs again. Jacobs bounced outside to the left and was tackled after a 7-yard gain with 1:14 left on the clock.
The Raiders were at the Chargers’ 39-yard line and faced a third-and-4. The clock continued to run as the Raiders called a play, broke the huddle and lined up in shotgun formation. The play clock was winding down. The absolute latest the Raiders could have snapped the ball was with 33 seconds left on the clock. The whole idea that Las Vegas could have let time run out in the game is false. The play clock precluded their doing that. So the Chargers, effectively, needed to get a stop on third down to give themselves a chance. If they stopped the Raiders for no gain, it would have set up a potential 57-yard game-winning field goal. Do the Raiders actually attempt that, considering the high risk of a block on longer attempts? We will never know. But stopping a Raiders run on third-and-4 and then hoping they would let the clock run out was the Chargers’ most likely path to the postseason at that point. Both teams, of course, would have gotten into the playoffs with a tie.
Staley had a nickel package — five defensive backs — on the field with two inside linebackers (Kyzir White and Kenneth Murray), two defensive linemen (Justin Jones and Jerry Tillery) and two edge rushers (Joey Bosa and Uchenna Nwosu). Knowing he needed a run stop in this situation, he called a timeout to get his best nickel run personnel grouping into the game. He took out Murray and brought on nose tackle Linval Joseph to bolster his front. Jacobs ran for a first down, and the rest is history. Staley took the timeout with six seconds remaining on the play clock.
But the timeout did not change the Raiders’ overall strategy. They were very clearly going to run a third-down play before the timeout. They did not come to the line in victory formation to kneel out the clock. Carr was in shotgun. The Chargers’ playoff chances were going to come down to getting a stop on the play, and so Staley tried to put his defense in the best position to make that stop.
That is all it was. And, frankly, it was, like, the 107th most interesting thing that happened in the game.
This is what actually happened.
With the score tied at 32, the Raiders took over at their own 25 with 4:30 remaining. The next score would win the game. Derek Carr completed a pass to Bryan Edwards for a 17-yard gain off play action on the first play. Carr then kept the possession alive two plays later by hitting Zay Jones on an out route on third-and-8. Asante Samuel Jr. was in coverage. I thought this was Carr’s best throw of the game. Jones clearly went out of bounds with 2:17 left. The clock continued to run, however, down to the two-minute warning. This appeared to be an error by the game clock operator. According to NFL rules, the clock should stop when a ball carrier goes out of bounds inside of five minutes in the fourth quarter or overtime. The only possible explanation is that the referees ruled Jones’ forward progress had been stopped. But I rewatched the TV copy and the game film, and neither official on that sideline signaled for the clock to run.
I digress. This really did not have an impact on the final moments of the game.
After the two-minute warning, the Raiders faced a first down from the Chargers’ 46-yard line. Josh Jacobs was tackled for a loss on a first-down handoff. The clock ran down to 1:22 before the next Raiders snap. Carr was in shotgun and handed off to Jacobs again. Jacobs bounced outside to the left and was tackled after a 7-yard gain with 1:14 left on the clock.
The Raiders were at the Chargers’ 39-yard line and faced a third-and-4. The clock continued to run as the Raiders called a play, broke the huddle and lined up in shotgun formation. The play clock was winding down. The absolute latest the Raiders could have snapped the ball was with 33 seconds left on the clock. The whole idea that Las Vegas could have let time run out in the game is false. The play clock precluded their doing that. So the Chargers, effectively, needed to get a stop on third down to give themselves a chance. If they stopped the Raiders for no gain, it would have set up a potential 57-yard game-winning field goal. Do the Raiders actually attempt that, considering the high risk of a block on longer attempts? We will never know. But stopping a Raiders run on third-and-4 and then hoping they would let the clock run out was the Chargers’ most likely path to the postseason at that point. Both teams, of course, would have gotten into the playoffs with a tie.
Staley had a nickel package — five defensive backs — on the field with two inside linebackers (Kyzir White and Kenneth Murray), two defensive linemen (Justin Jones and Jerry Tillery) and two edge rushers (Joey Bosa and Uchenna Nwosu). Knowing he needed a run stop in this situation, he called a timeout to get his best nickel run personnel grouping into the game. He took out Murray and brought on nose tackle Linval Joseph to bolster his front. Jacobs ran for a first down, and the rest is history. Staley took the timeout with six seconds remaining on the play clock.
But the timeout did not change the Raiders’ overall strategy. They were very clearly going to run a third-down play before the timeout. They did not come to the line in victory formation to kneel out the clock. Carr was in shotgun. The Chargers’ playoff chances were going to come down to getting a stop on the play, and so Staley tried to put his defense in the best position to make that stop.
That is all it was. And, frankly, it was, like, the 107th most interesting thing that happened in the game.
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