LAS VEGAS — Like a lot of visitors to Sin City, the Patriots head home feeling a little bankrupt.
New England ended its nine-day trip to the desert with a loss on one of the most bizarre endings in NFL history, with defensive end Chandler Jones returning a lateral 48 yards for a touchdown with no time left to give the Raiders a shocking 30-24 win.
The loss leaves the Patriots at 7-7.
It’s a quick turnaround for Bill Belichick’s club, which faces another short week as it hosts the Bengals on Christmas Eve, with their playoffs hopes hanging in the balance.
On the final play, the Patriots appeared to be content to run out the clock, handing the ball to Rhamondre Stevenson, who rumbled for 23 yards, then lateralled to Jakobi Meyers.
Meyers, a high school quarterback, tried to pass the ball way back to Mac Jones, but Raiders defensive end Jones intercepted it, ran over the Patriots quarterback, and went 48 yards for the winning touchdown.
To get into an inexplicable tie game, the Raiders scored a questionable touchdown with 32 seconds left. Wide receiver Keelan Cole jumped over Marcus Jones for a 30-yard touchdown, and it was upheld after a long review. Reviews appeared to show Cole’s toes out of bounds.
Instead, it was upheld, and the Patriots took the ensuing kickoff and attempted to move into field goal range. However, on the final play, everything went horribly wrong and now the Patriots face three games in which they will be underdogs.
Naturally, Vegas drew first blood (Pirates are bloodthirsty, right?) when Daniel Carlson connected from 49 yards for a 3-0 lead.
It could have been worse for the Patriots, but back-to-back flags (delay of game, illegal man downfield) led to a third and 15 and New England’s pass rush rattled Derek Carr, who gunned the ball to the turf.
After trading punts, the Patriots evened it at 3 on Nick Folk’s 24-yard field goal.
New England appeared poised to take the lead on the drive, but a Jones-to-Meyers 1-yard touchdown pass was wiped out as Bill Belichick called for a timeout a split second before the snap.
Jones couldn’t connect with Nelson Agholor (who was briefly held by Amik Robertson) on the goal line on third down. The Patriots were going for it on fourth and 1, but a Jonnu Smith false start led to a field goal instead.
After referee Ronald Torbert announced the infraction on Smith, the public address announcer bellowed, “Thank you Raiders fans!” for their extra fourth-down noise.
The Raiders built on that momentum to retake the lead on an 11-play, 76-yard touchdown drive for a 10-3 advantage.
Mixing in plenty of Josh Jacobs, who’s hide-and-seek style allows him to be patient, find holes and then really wear down defenders, Carr calmly led the Raiders down the field.
A holding penalty could have derailed the drive, but instead, Carr found Darren Waller zipping down the middle of the field by himself, and he waltzed into the end zone.
It may have been a cross-up on coverage between Patriots Adrian Phillips (who just missed a tip) and Jahlani Tavai.
The final two minutes of the half were an abject disaster for the Patriots. Following a 17-yard run by Stevenson, the offense went backward, forcing a punt.
Poor protection allowed Malcolm Koonce to slice through the line, however, and he deflected Michael Palardy’s punt, giving the Raiders prime position at the Patriots’ 20.
The Patriots’ hopes of the vaunted double score were quickly dashed.
It took just two plays for the Raiders to cash in, Carr hitting Mack Hollins on a 5-yard crosser for a 17-3 lead that felt much larger as the teams jogged to the locker room, the hosts with much more pep in their step.
The Patriots’ offense stalled again to open the second half, but as it has time and again this season, the defense provided a spark.
Flashing great presnap recognition, Kyle Dugger sneaked toward the line of scrimmage and jumped Carr’s quick attempt to Adams. Dugger jogged untouched into the end zone from 16 yards, cutting the deficit to 17-10.
It was New England’s league-high sixth non-offensive touchdown of the season.
The defense continued its strong, play and held the Raiders on the next possession, though A.J. Cole’s punt pinned the Patriots at their 2.
Feeding off the defense’s surge, the offense went 69 yards on 12 plays and trimmed their deficit to 17-13 when Folk hit a 47-yarder.
…
Rookies Jack Jones and Sam Roberts and safety Joshua Bledsoe were the game-day inactives for the Patriots. A cornerback, Jones suffered a bruised knee that knocked him out of the Cardinals game early. He practiced on a limited basis Friday but ultimately was not able to go. The other scratches (Jalen Mills, DeVante Parker, and Damien Harris) were previously announced.
Jim McBride can be reached at james.mcbride@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @globejimmcbride.
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Patriots take a gamble on the final play — and lose everything in Las Vegas - The Boston Globe
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