The Rush: Raiders don’t ‘take the tie’ in OT thriller vs Chargers, NFL playoffs set
The NFL Playoff matchups are set after a wild regular season finale that included the Jaguars changing the face of the postseason, the extension of Ben Roethlisberger’s NFL career, TJ Watt making history, the 49ers overcoming a 17-0 deficit and the very last game of the regular season between the Chargers vs Raiders being decided as time expired in overtime. Plus, Klay Day was a resounding success with the Warriors getting a win as Klay Thompson played in his first NBA game in two-and-a-half years and Ja Morant made the block of the year in the Grizzlies’ win over the Lakers.
Video Transcript
- [INAUDIBLE] hold good. And Raiders in--
JARED QUAY: We'll get to the return of Klay Thompson in a minute. But first, the NFL playoffs field is set and all hell broke loose in the process.
- Dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria.
JARED QUAY: The chaos began in earnest when a two-in Jaguars team crushed the Colts in Jacksonville, which opened the door to a dizzying number of playoff berth combinations. The Steelers and Ravens needed a win to stay alive. So naturally, their game came down to a field goal kick and overtime.
- [INAUDIBLE] sweeps the leg, and that is a winner for Pittsburgh.
JARED QUAY: Earlier in that game, Steelers linebacker TJ Watt grabbed his 22nd and a half sack of the season, tying the NFL single-season record.
- Sacked TJ Watts. NFL history.
JARED QUAY: Sure, TJ needed 17 games to do it while Michael Strahan did it in 16. But TJ did it without the help of a quarterback. Damn you, Brett Favre.
- Damn you.
JARED QUAY: With the Colts lost and Pittsburgh's win, all the Steelers needed to make the playoffs was for someone, anyone, to win the Chargers versus Raiders game on Sunday night.
- Anyone? Anyone at all?
JARED QUAY: And luckily for them, the late game had a winner. The piece de resistance was the final game of the season. It was all Raiders until the fourth quarter where the Chargers erased a 15-point deficit to tie the game with zeros on the clock, sending this one to overtime. The Chargers completed six fourth down conversions in this game. Yet, this one came down to the final seconds of overtime.
- Stafford hold good. And Raiders in. Chargers out. Steelers in.
JARED QUAY: The Raiders could have let it end in this tie, sending both teams to the playoffs. But after a meaningless Chargers timeout late in overtime, the Raiders pulled out the dagger, killing their divisional rivals playoff hopes. The West divisions in both the AFC and NFC were wild this season.
- What a ride, daddy.
JARED QUAY: With the 49ers and Rams going at it until the bitter end of week 18, this game had everything.
- Everything?
- Everything.
JARED QUAY: 17 points scoring runs by both teams, Rams head coach Sean McVay joining this team in the end zone for a celebration, and of course, overtime. The Niners scored a field goal on the first possession. So it was up to the Rams to keep the game alive.
- Watch Stafford go deep and picked off, intercepted by Ambry Thomas. San Francisco's win earned the Niners a spot in the playoffs. And you can check out the match-ups right here. The Bay Area has a hell of a reason to celebrate these days.
- He's back! And now in his 11th NBA season out of Washington State University, number 11 Klay Thompson.
JARED QUAY: Chase arena was hyped Sunday night as Klay Thompson played in an NBA game for the first time since June 13, 2019 when he tore his ACL during game six of the finals. Klay scored 17 points in 20 minutes in the Warriors win and dropped the damn hammer on the Cavs right here.
- He went to reach. And Klay down the lane.
JARED QUAY: Then gave us vintage splash brothers here.
- Otto Porter getting around Alan. There's a good look at a 3. There it is.
JARED QUAY: In the Warriors next game on Tuesday, Klay is going to face this though.
- Bradley with the deflection against [INAUDIBLE].
- Oh, Morant!
- What an incredible block.
- The unreal is right. This guy-- just look where he is when he catches it at the top.
JARED QUAY: That's Ja Morant with one of the nastiest plays I've ever seen. Yo, Ja hadn't even been drafted when Klay tore his ACL. So that's how long Klay's been out.
In fact, the world really ain't been good since Klay stopped playing basketball in the NBA. In fact, I think the world's turn around for the better. I can see it right now, man. I think we got world peace on the way.