In a weekend filled with wild games, the Las Vegas Raiders likely took the cake for the wildest. Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots looked destined for overtime once it was tied up with less than a minute left. That was until the final play of the game when Patriots wide receiver Jakobi Meyers got a lateral from Rhamondre Stevenson that he decided to throw back toward quarterback Mac Jones.
However, the ball landed right into Raiders defensive end Chandler Jones’ hands, which he took for a game-winning touchdown. It was one of the most stunning finishes in NFL history. Over his 23 years as an NFL quarterback, Tom Brady has seen some wild finishes. He was at the center of the “Tuck Rule Game,” which came against the Raiders. Even he was stunned by the finish of the Raiders-Patriots game.
“I was watching the Raider game yesterday and I saw that last play and it’s so bad and oh my God, it’s so good, and where else in life do things like that happen?” Brady said on the “Let’s Go!” podcast. “I’ve been on the winning end of those. Man, I go crazy. I don’t even know how to feel. You don’t even know what to feel.”
Tom Brady called Patriots-Raiders “the Raider game” and acknowledged that final play.
Notably, this was the first time the Raiders had beaten the Patriots since 2002 and just the second time they’ve beaten them since the “Tuck Rule Game.”
Derek Carr’s Reaction to Play Goes Viral
Brady had a big reaction to the Jones touchdown and he wasn’t even there. Raiders quarterback Derek Carr thought he was in for an overtime matchup with one of the NFL’s top defenses. Instead, he got to go home with a win without having to do any more work. He walked through what he was thinking when Jones got the ball and started charging to the end zone.
“I was watching the JumboTron,” Carr said Sunday. “And, honestly, when the running back tossed it to the other player, I think I even said it, I was like, ‘Throw it back, we’ll catch it.’”
Carr’s description didn’t give his reaction justice. Cameras caught him going crazy as the play unfolded.
.@DerekCarrQB was all of us watching that insane @Raiders game-winner
(via @NFLFilms, @InsideTheNFL)
The Raiders needed a miracle to keep their season alive and they got one.
“And then when I saw the ball up in the air and then I saw Chandler [Jones] underneath it, I’m thinking, ‘Oh, my God, we might have a chance at this,’” head coach Josh McDaniels said Sunday.
Raiders Have to Shift Focus to Steelers
Sunday was a great win for the Raiders but they can’t be lingering on it too long. The team has a short week of practice as they head to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers on Saturday. The team is still a long shot to make the playoffs but beating the Steelers would greatly help their chances. McDaniels spoke about how important it is for the Raiders to stay focused.
“The one thing that we know we have to do in order to keep going is win,” McDaniels said Monday. “So, to focus on anything other than our singular goal each week of trying to beat the opponent that we have on the schedule is kind of a waste of time and energy, honestly. Because we don’t have any control over what everybody else does. … The best we can do — and I think our team understands that — is just focus on what we have control over, which is our own preparation.”
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Tom Brady Shares Reaction to Wild Patriots-Raiders Game