Chargers head coach Brandon Staley will be second-guessed for at least two decisions that took place in Sunday’s loss against the Las Vegas Raiders with many believing his second miscue resulted not only in Week 18 loss, but ultimately served as the reason Los Angeles was eliminated from the postseason.
Staley, questionably, called a timeout with 38 seconds left and Las Vegas having a third-and-four at the Los Angeles 46-yard line. The Raiders appeared content with letting the clock run as a tie game would have earned both Las Vegas and Los Angeles a playoff berth.
Raiders quarterback Derek Carr admitted the timeout Staley took, which allowed Las Vegas to regroup on the sideline ahead of their third-down conversion, impacted how the hosts played out the final 38 seconds. There was speculation that Chargers running back Austin Ekeler was told the same thing after the game.
“It definitely did, obviously,” Carr said on the NBC broadcast.
He also added: “We knew, no matter what, we didn’t want a tie. We wanted to win the football game.”
The Raiders converted that third-and-four on a 10-yard run by Josh Jacobs and then watched the clocked tick down until two seconds were left on the clock.
Las Vegas kicker Daniel Carlson hit a 47-yard, game-winning field goal to eliminate the Chargers from the playoffs as the Raiders earned a 35-32 victory.
It wasn’t the first questionable decision on the game for the Chargers coach, though.
The first of such came on a failed fourth-and-one attempt midway through the third quarter from the Los Angeles 18-yard line. The stop by the Raiders, which came with the Chargers trailing 17-14 and 8:57 left in the third quarter, allowed Las Vegas to convert an easy field goal four plays later to take a 20-14 lead.
That play, however, also seemed to change the momentum of the game. The Raiders went on to take a 29-14 lead — their largest lead of the game — after scoring points on three straight possessions following that failed fourth-and-one attempt.
