Raiders end Pete Carroll’s first and likely lone season with thrilling victory

Raiders head coach Pete Carroll stands on the field during the first half of an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2025. Photo by: Wade Vandervort

The Raiders’ front office and fans came into the final week of the season wanting to secure the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.

The Raiders’ coaching staff, especially head coach Pete Carroll, and players came into the final week of the season wanting to secure the team’s first-ever win over the archrival Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium.

All parties came away satisfied as Las Vegas edged Kansas City 14-12 in a Week 18 game that turned dramatic in the final four minutes.

The Raiders had already wrapped up the top overall pick before kickoff by virtue of the New York Giants beating the Dallas Cowboys 34-17 earlier in the day.

There was more suspense before breaking an 0-6 start against the Chiefs at Allegiant and snapping an 11-game AFC West losing streak, the second-longest in franchise history.

Daniel Carlson converted a 60-yard field goal, his fourth make in four tries, with eight seconds remaining for the win.  

In a game that didn’t feature a touchdown and was heavy on backups and practice-squad players, a Carlson 55-yarder near the start of the fourth quarter gave the Raiders a 9-6 lead that looked like it might be enough for victory.   

Fans in silver and black especially started feeling comfortable with 4:37 remaining when edge rusher Tyree Wilson sacked Chiefs quarterback Shane Buechele for a safety to go up 11-6.

But then returner Dylan Laube fumbled the ensuing free kick, leading to the first of two field goals from Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker in a span of less than 2:30 of game time.

The Raiders went three-and-out after Butker’s first field goal, and then Buechele hit Hollywood Brown for a 51-yard completion — the longest gain of the game.

But Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell got the team into the fringes of field goal range in the final minute with the biggest play a 21-yard completion to tight end Michael Mayer.

Carroll leapt in the air and rushed on the field to celebrate as Carlson’s lengthy kick split the uprights.

He had hinted that he disagreed with the Raiders’ choice to shut down its best remaining healthy players — namely edge rusher Maxx Crosby, tight end Brock Bowers and safety Jeremy Chinn — before last week’s loss to the Giants.

Kansas City followed a similar tact two weeks ago after it was eliminated from playoff contention and lost quarterback Patrick Mahomes to an ACL injury.

Carroll talked all week about how much a win over the Chiefs would mean to him and his players.

It only improved the Raiders to 3-14 on the year — tied with the New York Jets, Tennessee Titans and Arizona Cardinals for the worst in the league — but might have ended Carroll’s Hall of Fame career with a victory.

Multiple reports indicate the Raiders are unlikely to retain Carroll, who promised a winning season in his debut and was resistant to playing young players and building for the future.

The one rookie Carroll never hesitated to work, first-round running back Ashton Jeanty, was the focal point of the offense against the Chiefs.

But Jeanty was more prolific than efficient, totaling 94 yards on 29 touches to become the Raiders’ single-season rookie leader in scrimmage yards by narrowly surpassing Josh Jacobs’ record set in 2019.

Jeanty was stuffed twice at the goal line in the second quarter in what turned out to be Las Vegas’ best chance to score a touchdown against Kansas City. Carroll opted to send Carlson out for a 23-yard field goal on 4^th-and-2 from the six-year line.

Fans booed the decision.

Another former Raiders’ first-round pick was the star of the game in Wilson as he had two sacks, two tackles for loss and two forced fumbles in addition to the safety.

On a couple more occasions, Wilson hurried Chiefs starting quarterback Chris Oladukon, who was benched in the second half for Buechele.

The Raiders swapped quarterbacks earlier in the game, as Kenny Pickett got the start but was sat down after a rough couple series that included an interception thrown right to Chiefs cornerback Chamarri Conner.

O’Connell came in for his first action of the year and was slightly better with 102 yards on 10-for-22 passing. He came close to a long touchdown pass to Tre Tucker on a go route in the fourth quarter but Bishop Gorman graduate/Chiefs cornerback Jaden Hicks got a hand on the ball in the end zone.

O’Connell seems likely to stick around for another season in a backup capacity with a year left on his rookie contract, but much of the rest of the Raiders’ roster will flip over.

The big question is whom O’Connell will be playing behind with the draft likely to yield either Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza or Oregon quarterback Dante Moore.

Whoever is taken will have an immense amount of pressure to turnaround a long-suffering franchise. After Sunday, he just won’t also inherit a prolonged losing streak against the team’s biggest rival.