Thursday Night Football has been anything but boring in 2017.
Unlike in recent years, we’ve seen some of the season’s best games in the opening contest of the week. From a 41–39 thriller between the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers (as weird to write as it is to read) to the Philadelphia Eagles nail-biting win over the Carolina Panthers in Week 6, Thursday night has been a delight for NFL fans so far.
But last night’s game might take the cake.
The Oakland Raiders capped an improbable comeback to win 31–30 after running three plays with the game clock at 0:00.
It was one hell of a game, so we’ve decided to break down five of the craziest moments.
Cooper breaks out with a flea flicker
It’s been a rough start to the season for the Raiders’ No. 1 receiver. Heading into Thursday’s game, Amari Cooper had just 146 yards (a smidge over 24 yards per game) and a touchdown. And then he torched the Chiefs pass defence.
The Raiders got Cooper involved early and often, capping off their first drive of the game with one of football’s funnest plays. Sure, you can call the flea flicker gimmicky, but you still love it.
FLEA FLICKER! @derekcarrqb @AmariCooper9 for the @RAIDERS TD! #KCvsOAK #RaiderNation pic.twitter.com/8DK891Fe17
— NFL (@NFL) October 20, 2017
Cooper then put an exclamation point on the first quarter with a second impressive score, catching a Derek Carr pass at the Chiefs’ 30 and burning a pair of K.C. defenders for seven.
When all was said and done, Cooper had racked up 210 receiving yards (64 more than his season total prior to Thursday) on 11 catches for the two TDs.
Tyreek turns on the jets
He’s played just 24 career games, but already Tyreek Hill has emerged as the league’s most dynamic player. He lived up to his reputation on Thursday night, burning Raiders defensive backs for a jaw-dropping touchdown to give the Chiefs their first lead of the game.
There's a @cheetah on the loose!
TYREEK HILL IS GONE. #ChiefsKingdom #KCvsOAK pic.twitter.com/ed8V3MSvwv
— NFL (@NFL) October 20, 2017
Marshawn gets the boot
The bruising Raiders running back didn’t have much of an impact on the box score, but that didn’t stop Marshawn Lynch from having a significant impact on the game.
Near the mid-point of the second quarter, a late hit on Carr by Chiefs corner Marcus Peters set off a scuffle between a couple of Oakland offensive lineman and Peters. The ultimate team player, Lynch sprinted on to the field to join the fracas and — when officials attempted to restrain the 30-year-old — got ejected for pushing line judge Julian Mapp.
The whole sequence. Holy moly. Marshawn ran from the sidelines
— The Football Bible™ (@TheFBBible) October 20, 2017
Luckily for Lynch, that ill-advised move didn’t ultimately lead to a Raiders loss. But Oakland finished with just 88 rushing yards (nine from Lynch) and they could be without their hometown hero next week in Buffalo.
Tip drill
Down 21-20 with just over seven minutes remaining in the third quarter, Chiefs receiver Albert Wilson made one of the most bizarre (and amazing) touchdown catches you’ll ever see. K.C. quarterback Alex Smith tossed a bomb down the middle that was undercut and tipped by cornerback T.J. Carrie.
Wilson did the rest.
The end(s) of the game
But the Thursday nighter didn’t get really crazy until the final 30 seconds when, down 30–24, the Raiders were driving for the win on the Chiefs’ 29. Six plays later — three with no time remaining — the game was won. In dramatic fashion.
Play No. 1
The Raiders were in a third-and-10 situation at the Chiefs’ 29-yard line with 23 seconds left. Instead of looking for first-down yardage and a follow-up spiked ball, or a quick out to the sidelines, Carr went for broke and targeted Jared Cook. The tight end was lined up wide on the left sideline where he ran a slow route towards the end-zone pylon.
The six-foot-five, 254-pound Cook leaped over the five-foot-11, 199-pound Eric Murray to come down with the ball and roll into the end zone. The sideline official ruled it a touchdown with 16 seconds remaining on the clock. Upon review, however, it was ruled Cook’s rump touched down at the half-yard line with 18 seconds remaining on the clock. Since there was a clock stoppage despite the Raiders not having any timeouts, per the NFL rulebook, there was an automatic 10-second runoff and the next play would begin on the referee’s whistle.
Play No. 2
Eight seconds on the clock, ball on the half-yard line. Carr attempted a back-shoulder throw to Michael Crabtree on his right side but the sure-handed receiver pushed off Marcus Peters to create separation prior to making a catch so he was called for offensive pass interference with three seconds remaining.
Play No. 3
Three seconds on the clock, ball just outside the 10-yard line. Carr, from the shotgun, got nice protection from his line so he stepped up in the pocket and fired a high pass that slipped through Cook’s fingers. Game over… wait, never mind. A defensive holding call on Ron Parker extended the game one more down and moved the ball five yards closer to the goal line.
Play No. 4
No time on the clock, ball just outside the five-yard line. Carr remained in the shotgun but this time targeted Cordarrelle Patterson in the slot. Patterson managed to catch the ball, but Eric Murray pushed him out the back of the end zone. No catch. Game overrrr… oh, come on. Yet another defensive holding call, this time on Murray, went the Raiders’ way and we got one more untimed down.
Play No. 5
No time on the clock, ball inside the three-yard line. Carr rolled out to his left, zeroed in on Crabtree and tossed a dart to a spot where only his man could catch it. Crabtree held onto the ball a yard inside the end zone and completed the process of the catch. We were all tied up.
Play No. 6
The extra point. For the win. Long snapper Jon Condo hiked the ball to holder/punter Marquette King. The snap and hold were perfect and rookie place kicker Giorgio Tavecchio put the ball inside the uprights. Game over… for real this time.
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