Raiders eliminated from playoffs, because of time management issues

Las Vegas- With under two minutes left in regulation, the Raiders decided to kick a field goal instead of punching the ball in the endzone, which came back to bite them against the Miami Dolphins.

In a weird sequence of events, the Raiders decided to kneel on third and goal at the two-yard line and went for a field goal instead of scoring a touchdown. A touchdown would have iced the game and would have given hope to the Raiders who were fighting for a playoff spot in the AFC.

The Raiders kicked the ball deep and the kick returner only returned it for a couple of yards. Las Vegas shot themselves in a foot two plays later when they were called for a face-mask penalty. Two plays later, Miami got into field goal position, which set up Jason Saunders for a 44-yard field goal. Saunders stunned the Raiders, as he hit the field goal with .3 seconds left in the game to pull out the victory for the Dolphins, 26-25.

After it was all said and done, a lot of people were wondering about the time management and why did the Raiders kicked the field goal instead of icing the game with a touchdown. This is what Raiders' head coach Jon Gruden had to say about the play.

"The play was to eliminate all the clock and all the timeouts and put them back with their back against the wall with 19 seconds left," Gruden said. "I don't regret it. I didn't want Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to have the ball. I didn't want him to be in a four-down situation. He's a gunslinger; he was hot. That's all I can say. I don't regret it one bit. I just regret the results.

With a disappointing ending, the Raiders are optimistic about next season and look forward to competing.