Were the Las Vegas Raiders planning to play for a tie until the Los Angeles Chargers took a timeout towards the end of overtime on Sunday night? Many are wondering if that was the case based on an interaction between Austin Ekeler and Trent Sieg after the game.
The Raiders beat the Chargers 35-32 in overtime on Sunday night to advance to the playoffs. The Raiders win ended the Chargers’ season, and it also allowed the Steelers to get into the playoffs.
The thing is, both the Raiders and the Chargers would have made the playoffs if the game ended in a tie. The Raiders seemed content to let the game end in a tie until a Brandon Staley timeout with 38 seconds left changed their plans.
The Raiders gained 10 yards on 3rd-and-4 to set up for a 47-yard field goal that Daniel Carlson made to win the game.
After the game, NBC’s cameras caught an exchange between Ekeler and Sieg. Ekeler threw his head back in disgust as if he had just been told some news that let him down.
The moment Ekeler found out the Raiders were playing for the tie pic.twitter.com/RTXABkXz10
— Pats (@disgood24) January 10, 2022
Did Sieg, who is the Raiders’ long-snapper, tell Ekeler that they were willing to let the game end in a tie until Staley called a timeout? That’s what many people think.
What else could have caused such a reaction from Ekeler? It’s fair to wonder that question.
