The story of the Chiefs’ 2024 season has been one of narrow escapes, and the Black Friday chapter might be the unlikeliest yet.

The Raiders forced a punt to make it 19-17 with two minutes left in the game, driving from their 8-yard line to the Chiefs’ 32-yard line as the seconds expired. Quarterback Aidan O’Connell spiked the ball to stop the clock with 15 seconds left, and the Raiders lined up to shoot the ball again before presumably attempting a game-winning field goal.

Then there was a catastrophe. Rookie center Jackson Powers-Johnson grabbed the ball before the Raiders were set, the ball bounced off O’Connell’s chest and the Chiefs recovered to secure their 11th win of the season. With the win, the Chiefs become the first team in the league to secure a spot in the playoffs.

Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce should be asked why O’Connell passed the ball so long before the end, and he will probably be asked whether he should use a timeout to score a 58-yard drive in under three minutes -Attempting a field goal. Daniel Carlson had already missed 55- and 56-yard attempts and failed badly to give the Chiefs the ball near midfield. Unless Pierce wanted to make it clear his midweek claim With the Raiders being the worst team in the league, it’s hard to imagine either of these two decisions really hurting the Raiders’ chances of winning.

The Chiefs took a 16-3 lead on a touchdown catch by Justin Watson and three field goals by Matthew Wright, but the Raiders erased that with two long touchdown passes late in the third quarter and on the first play of the fourth quarter. The Chiefs regained the lead with another Wright field goal that set the stage for the wild final moments.

O’Connell went 23 of 35 for 340 yards in his return from a right thumb injury. He was sacked three times and had to fend off a few passes at the line of scrimmage before making the unfortunate decision to try for the 58-yard field goal.

Raiders tight end Brock Bowers had 10 catches for 140 yards and a score, while Jakobi Myers had six catches for 97 yards and Tre Tucker had a score of 58 yards. They also had good play from running back Sincere McCormick and a strong performance from their defense, so this loss will be even more painful than most on their growing list of defeats.

The Raiders are officially out of the playoffs. They’ll be in Tampa next weekend.

The Chiefs struggled to protect Patrick Mahomes all game, switching left guard Joe Thuney to left tackle to replace Wanya Morris down the stretch. It didn’t help much and the team will likely be working overtime to get recently signed DJ Humphries ready to go.

Next Sunday evening there is a home game with the Chargers that will be very important for the AFC playoffs. Given their weekly struggles, it’s hard to imagine the Chiefs patching things up by then, but signs that that can happen would be welcome.