It was just what the doctor ordered
THRILLER IN OAKLAND
The National Football League got exactly what it needed Thursday night, a thrilling game in Oakland between the Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs with a crazy finish that will be a topic of discussion. Now all it needs is more of the same. “It’s awesome,” Raiders coach Jack Del Rio said in a postgame interview with CBS, which carried the game.
Indeed it was. It was a game with a little bit of everything. There were officiating controversies. There was Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch being ejected for running on the field from the sideline during a scuffle between the teams and making contact with an official.
There was an ending that included the Raiders having one touchdown overturned by an instant replay review that put the ball down inside the one-yard line; then having another touchdown negated by a penalty for offensive pass interference; then having the game extended by two defensive penalties on the Chiefs; then winning, 31-30, on quarterback Derek Carr’s touchdown pass to wide receiver Michael Crabtree and the ensuing extra point.
The Raiders probably saved their season, ending a three-game losing streak and upping their record to 3-4.
“Two and five didn’t sound good,” Carr said on the set of the league-owned NFL Network. “That didn’t sit well with us.”
The game also might have been a first step toward the NFL saving its season. Those in the NFL keep talking about getting the public’s attention back to what happens following the opening kickoff instead of what transpires before it.
“What we’re trying to do is stay out of politics,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said at the conclusion of this week’s two-day owners’ meeting in New York.
“We’re not looking to get into politics. What we’re looking to do is continue to keep people focused on football.”
One thing that would help in that regard is a team or two and a few players emerging to make this season considerably more captivating. Thursday night’s game was only a start.
Think about it.
What are the most compelling on-field story lines so far of the 2017 season?
The Los Angeles Rams are a first-place team as Sean McVay, turns second-year quarterback Jared Goff into a player worthy of last year’s No. 1 overall selection. The Philadelphia Eagles are off to a 5-1 start behind the quarterback drafted last year immediately after Goff, Carson Wentz. The New York Jets are not tanking the season. Rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson looks like a star in the making in Houston. The Chiefs were the final team to suffer a loss.
OK, fine. Those are all nice. But none of that has created all that much buzz.
The New England Patriots have not been themselves.
After talk of them chasing an unbeaten season, they lost their first game and little has come easily for them since then.
The Dallas Cowboys regained “America’s Team” stature last season behind two rookies, quarterback Dak Prescott and tailback Ezekiel Elliott, as they provided a post-presidential-election boost to the sport’s sagging TV ratings. But with expectations even higher this season, the Cowboys are 2-3 and they could lose Elliott at any time if the NFL regains the right in court to enforce its six-game suspension of him under the personal conduct policy.
Aaron Rodgers suffered a broken collarbone last weekend, potentially ending his season, a week after Odell Beckham Jr. and J.J. Watt suffered season-ending injuries. Andrew Luck hasn’t played all season.
Who’s the MVP of the league? There’s Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith and there’s Tom Brady and there’s ... who? Maybe Kansas City’s Kareem Hunt or Pittsburgh’s Antonio Brown?
Who’s the best team in the NFC? There’s the Eagles and ... who? Perhaps the Seahawks or Rams or Panthers?
The best game of the season before Thursday’s probably came when Rodgers, in his final game before getting hurt, took the Green Bay Packers to a game-winning touchdown in the final seconds at Dallas, just as he’d ousted the Cowboys from the NFC playoffs in the same building last season with crunch time quarterbacking magic.