Jon Gruden says Al Riveron called to apologize for bad call on Derek Carr slide
The Raiders’ Oakland Coliseum finale on Sunday was a disaster befitting a franchise drenched in ineptitude and abandoning a loyal-to-a-fault fanbase.
What looked like a sure win over one of the league’s worst teams devolved into chaos after the Jacksonville Jaguars scored 17 unanswered points to pull off a 20-16 victory and spoil the Raiders’ final game in Oakland.
The disappointment of Sunday’s breakdown hit the Black Hole hard, as a swath of the the Raiders faithful rained down boos on quarterback Derek Carr and threw trash on the field as scattered violence ensued.
Gruden: NFL apologized for botched call
It all might have been avoided had officials not botched a critical call on a scramble by quarterback Derek Carr in the game’s waning moments. For that call, head coach Jon Gruden told reporters Monday he received an apologetic phone call from NFL vice president of officiating Al Riveron.
“We accept the apology,” Gruden told reporters. “But Derek was in bounds, and that play cost us dearly.”
Bad call part of a chain of disaster for Raiders
The play in question occurred just prior to the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter. The Raiders, leading 16-13, were driving in Jaguars’ territory when Carr took off on a scramble for a first down.
After securing first-down yardage, Carr gave himself up by sliding at the 31-yard line as the clock ticked toward the two-minute warning.
Except the clock didn’t tick to the two-minute warning. Officials stopped the clock at 2:05, having ruled incorrectly that Carr slid out of bounds. Carr ended up out of bounds, but his knee clearly hit the turf before his momentum carried him to the boundary.
In #JAXvsOAK, Derek Carr gave himself up while still being in bounds. The clock should have continued running, resulting in the 2:00 warning. pic.twitter.com/i763j8E2rL
— Gene Steratore (@GeneSteratore) December 15, 2019
Raiders at plenty of fault
The Raiders compounded the problem by not recognizing in time that the two-minute warning was not imminent, allowing the play clock to expire for a five-yard delay-of-game penalty.
So instead of facing first-and-10 at the 31 on the other side of the two-minute warning, the Raiders were forced to run another play with 2:05 remaining on first-and-15 from the 36.
They failed to gain another first down, hit a field goal or run enough time off the clock to prevent Jacksonville’s game-winning touchdown.
The Raiders got a lot of things wrong before and after that call that led to their demise. But it’s safe to say the call played a significant impact on the outcome of the game.
Gruden vocal after the game
Gruden was hot about it postgame.
“I've never seen anything like it," Gruden said Sunday. “People up in the press box are clearly telling me he gave himself up in the field of play. And I'm waiting for the clock to wind to two minutes. I'm still waiting. And it never happened. Unbelievable.”
While he said Monday that he accepts Riveron’s apology, it doesn’t sound like he’s over it.
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