The Las Vegas Raiders were defeated by the Kansas City Chiefs in devastating fashion on Friday.
On a third-down play, offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson snapped the ball before quarterback Aidan O'Connell was ready, resulting in a fumble, which was recovered by Kansas City with 15 seconds left in the game.
After the game, Powers-Johnson removed any doubts when it came to responsibility for the botched snap, as he took full accountability for the mistake. Powers-Johnson, who slid inside to center to replace the injured Andre James earlier in November and has remained there since, explained that he thought O'Connell was calling for the ball to be snapped but that the QB had not made such a call yet.
"We didn't come up short," Powers-Johnson said, according to Tashan Reed of The Athletic. "I came up short."
Of course, Las Vegas also turned the ball over once, had nine penalties that cost them 101 yards, and missed three field goals, so it's difficult to pin all of the blame on Powers-Johnson.
But unfortunately for the rookie lineman, his mistake came at the most pivotal point in the game, and is thus the play that will be remembered the most, fair or not.
In a veteran move, though, Powers-Johnson took full accountability for his role in the loss, something that is sure to garner respect among his teammates.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Raiders Center Addresses Costly Botched Snap After Loss vs. Chiefs .
