Controversial Raiders-Chiefs penalty explanation won’t stop KC conspiracists

The final drive for the Las Vegas Raiders on the road against the rival Kansas City Chiefs made it seem as if we were about to have a Silver and Black Friday the day after Thanksgiving. Instead, an unmitigated disaster struck for Antonio Pierce's team in the final moments.

We've all seen it by now but Raiders center Jackson Powers-Johnson snapped the ball to Aidan O'Connell when the young quarterback wasn't looking while Vegas was in field goal range. That put the ball on the turf, the Chiefs recovered, and Patrick Mahomes was able to take a knee to run out the rest of the clock as Kansas City held on for the 19-17 win.

However, in the immediate aftermath of the fumble, everyone wondered why the play wasn't ruled dead as a false start given that the Raiders were still moving when Powers-Johnson snapped the ball. The officials called an illegal shift penalty but the false start would've allowed the Raiders to keep the ball.

We finally got an explanation for why things transpired the way they did — but it surely won't help sway anyone who believes there's a conspiracy to help the Chiefs afoot.

Controversial Raiders-Chiefs ending explanation still feels icky

Kirk Herbstreit, who was on the broadcast for the Black Friday contest for Prime Video, took to X/Twitter in the wee hours of Saturday morning to share what he was told as an explanation for why the penalty was called as it was, saying:

"Under 2 minutes, if the offense never gets set before the snap, it’s a false start if and only if the clock is running. If that clock is stopped, as it was here, then it’s an illegal shift and a live ball foul and the play continues…"

So, essentially, because the clock was stopped prior to the play in question, the penalty was ruled a live-ball illegal shift as opposed to the dead ball false start.

Now, let's be clear, if that's the letter of the law, then the officials got it right and that fully explains why there was so much deliberation between the refs before the call was made. It's a rare circumstance and they had to make sure to get the rule right. At the same time, it doesn't change the optics that the Chiefs seemingly were bailed out by a loophole in the rulebook that benefitted them.

The Raiders, meanwhile, continue to struggle through the first full season under Pierce why the Chiefs, despite numerous hairy situations, are still just a one-loss team perched atop the AFC standings and still eyeing the historic Super Bowl three-peat.

And if the refs have anything to say about it, they'll continue on that run — right, conspiracy theorists?