The Las Vegas Raiders sideline discussed settling for a tie before completing their dramatic playoff-clinching win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Concluding an incredible Week 18 in the NFL, the Raiders sealed their first playoff berth since the 2016 season as Daniel Carlson's game-winning field goal settled a 35-32 classic as time expired in overtime.
The kick sent the Raiders and the Pittsburgh Steelers to the postseason and knocked out the Chargers, who had earlier recovered from 15 points down in the fourth quarter.
A stunning victory for the Jacksonville Jaguars over the Indianapolis Colts earlier on Sunday opened up the possibility of both the Raiders and Chargers settling for a tie in their winner-take-all season finale and sending both to the postseason at the expense of the Steelers.
The topic had been hotly discussed leading up to the game, with Chargers coach Brandon Staley emphatically ruling out such a scenario.
But that possibility suddenly looked likely as the game remained tied in the final minute of the extra period after both teams traded field goals.
There was a final twist, though, as Josh Jacobs' 10-yard run on third down, after a controversial decision by Staley to call a timeout and stop the clock with 38 seconds left, put Carlson in position to boot the Chargers out of the postseason with a 47-yard kick.
The Raiders acknowledged they had pondered the prospect of settling for a tie as the game progressed and thought the Chargers were doing the same given they had not called timeout on a previous Jacobs run in overtime.
"We were going to take the field goal and try to win it," said Raiders interim coach Rich Bisaccia.
"But we were certainly talking about it [settling for a tie] on the sideline.
"We ran the ball there [near the end of OT], and they didn't call timeout, so I think they were probably thinking the same thing."
Bisaccia hailed the Raiders' spirit after the team won their final four games against the Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, Colts and Chargers by a total of just 12 points.
He said: "We just found a way to have a chance to win at the end and we have been in this situation before.
"Derek Carr has been in two-minute situations before; he's been in four-minute situations before. Our defense has had to come up with stops at the end of the game.
"So you just can't say enough about how this team prepares. I just know they believe in each other when they go out there. They don't blink."
Asked whether the Raiders would have punted or taken a knee on fourth down if Jacobs had not got them into field goal range, Bisaccia said, "I don't know – it didn't happen!" before smiling and leaving his exchange with reporters.
Staley, meanwhile, was left to explain his thinking with the timeout after the Chargers fell agonisingly short.
"We needed to get in the right grouping, we felt like they were going to run the ball, so we wanted to get our best 11 personnel run defense in," said Staley.
"Make that substitution so that we could get a play where we would deepen the field goal."
"I had never been rooting for a tie more in my life,'' added Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, who racked up 64 pass attempts, completing 34 for 383 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
"That's the unfortunate part of being so close.''
The Raiders will face the Cincinnati Bengals on Wild Card weekend when the Steelers will take on the Kansas City Chiefs.
Carr, who threw for two touchdowns, will finally play in a playoff game for the first time after starting 127 games in the regular season.
"I'm excited, thinking about the next team we play, and then everything hurts," he said.
"It feels cool, it's awesome, but we've got to play a team that already beat us [the Bengals], so it's going to be tough.
"I just have this weird feeling in my heart like, 'The job's not done.' Like my favourite player, Kobe [Bryant], said, 'Job's not done'."
Eagles lock up wide receiver Smith through 2028
The Philadelphia Eagles locked up wide receiver DeVonta Smith through the 2028 season on Monday.
Philadelphia exercised its fifth-year option on Smith for the 2025 season and agreed to terms on a three-year contract extension that runs through 2028.
Smith’s extension is reportedly worth $75million, including $51million in guaranteed money.
Philadelphia selected Smith with the 10th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft after he won the Heisman Trophy with Alabama in 2020.
Smith was the first wide receiver to win the Heisman since Desmond Howard in 1991 and first non-quarterback or running back to capture the honour since cornerback Charles Woodson in 1997.
Smith has caught 240 passes for 3,178 yards and 19 touchdowns in 50 regular-season games while adding 27 receptions for 405 yards and a TD catch in five postseason contests.
OJ Simpson: Cherished star whose fall from grace was seen live by millions on TV
From cherished American superstar to villain whose murder trial captivated a global audience, OJ Simpson’s fall from grace was startling.
Simpson, nicknamed ‘The Juice’, has died at the age of 76 after losing his battle with prostate cancer, leaving behind four children.
Before the low-speed car chase by police and ‘Trial of the Century’ that began the unravelling of his reputation, Simpson was a darling of American sport who had also carved out a successful acting career.
He was raised in a low income neighbourhood in San Francisco and joined a local gang but his athleticism offered a route out and he found his purpose in gridiron.
A prolific running back, he starred for USC and in 1968 won the Heisman Trophy awarded to the outstanding player in college football. Inevitably, he was first overall draught pick the following year.
Progress in his first couple of seasons at the Buffalo Bills was slow but his impact grew and he went on to become one of the most successful operators in his position, winning the NFL’s most valuable player in 1973 and being inducted into the hall of fame in 1985.
He became the game’s highest paid player and lucrative commercial deals also followed as companies looked to leverage his charisma and popularity, while his acting career included parts in blockbusters ‘Towering Inferno’ and ‘The Naked Gun’.
For all his film presence he was little known outside the United States but that changed for all the wrong reasons when he was arrested in 1994 for the murder of his former wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman.
Brown and Goldman had been found stabbed to death in LA and once police had filed charges, Simpson refused to turn himself in and was pursued in an extraordinary car chase that was at low speed because he had a gun pointed to his head.
The event was televised live to millions and projected his notoriety worldwide, with the broadcasting of his subsequent murder trial only intensifying interest in this fallen star.
He was acquitted the following year but a civil lawsuit found him liable for the deaths, resulting in an order to pay £26.7million pounds to the victims of the families. Only a fraction of that amount was actually paid.
Arrests followed for a variety of offences in the early 2000s and his lowest point eventually came in 2007 when he was charged with armed robbery and kidnapping.
He served nine of a 33-year jail sentence and upon his release he continued to live in Las Vegas, looking increasingly frail when in public but active on social media. Simpson always maintained his innocence of the murders.
OJ Simpson dies aged 76
OJ Simpson has died of cancer at the age of 76.
Simpson was a running back for the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers from 1969 to 1979, before being acquitted of murder in a trial in the mid-1990s.
News of Simpson’s death was announced by his children on his X account.
“On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer,” read a statement.
“He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren. During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace. -The Simpson Family”
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