Pete Carroll’s Late-Game Call Raises Eyebrows After Raiders’ Last-Second Field Goal
With the game all but over and the scoreboard reading 24-14 in favor of the Denver Broncos, Sunday’s matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders appeared ready to wrap without much more drama. But then came a sequence that has NFL fans buzzing - and not for the reasons you'd expect.
Let’s set the scene: the Raiders were trailing by 10 in the final seconds when Kenny Pickett found Tyler Lockett for a 26-yard gain. That play should’ve effectively ended the game. The clock was ticking toward zero, and with no timeouts left, it seemed like the final whistle was imminent.
But then came a curious moment. Raiders safety Brandon Jones took a delay of game penalty - an odd move in that situation, especially with the game essentially out of reach.
That penalty gave Las Vegas one more untimed down. And instead of dialing up a last-ditch shot at the end zone, head coach Pete Carroll made the unconventional call to send out kicker Daniel Carlson for a field goal attempt.
Carlson drilled it. Raiders lose 24-17.
Now, here’s where things get interesting - and where fans across the league started connecting the dots. The betting line for this game?
Broncos favored by 9.5. That late field goal didn’t change the outcome in the standings, but it did change the outcome for anyone who had Denver covering the spread.
Naturally, social media lit up.
Fans immediately questioned the rationale behind the decision. Why kick a field goal with no time left, down by 10, when it won’t affect the win-loss column?
Was it simply a matter of Carroll wanting to end on a positive note? Was he trying to avoid a turnover or injury on a meaningless final play?
Or - as many fans speculated - was there something more calculated behind the move?
While there’s no evidence of anything nefarious, the optics were undeniably strange. One fan summed up the sentiment with a now-viral post: “You cannot convince me Pete Carroll didn’t know the number.” Others echoed the same thought, with comments ranging from sarcastic jabs to outright calls for investigation.
“Interesting choice to kick the FG and cut it to seven as the clock expires. Nothing fishy there,” one user wrote, dripping with sarcasm. Another quipped, “Pete Carroll should be at home in his rocking chair but instead he has the Raiders down 10 kicking past-second FGs to cover the spread.”
To be clear, NFL coaches make unconventional decisions all the time - especially in late-game scenarios when the outcome is already decided. Sometimes it’s about reps.
Sometimes it’s about pride. And sometimes, it’s just about getting points on the board.
But in today’s world, where betting lines are part of the weekly conversation, every decision like this gets scrutinized through a different lens.
Adding fuel to the fire, a report earlier in the day from The Athletic’s Dianna Russini noted that some within the Raiders’ organization - and around the league - are questioning whether Carroll will make it through the season. That context, combined with Sunday’s strange finish, only intensified the speculation.
In the end, the Raiders still lost. The Broncos still walked away with the win.
But that final field goal? It turned a routine ending into a lightning rod moment - one that fans (and sportsbooks) won’t forget anytime soon.
And as for Carroll? Whether it was strategy, instinct, or just a head-scratching decision, he’s once again found himself at the center of the NFL conversation.