The Oakland Raiders saw their playoff chances slip away on Sunday as their season crumbled in a loss against the San Diego Chargers. The Raiders lost the AFC West title and will be watching the Super Bowl from home yet again. But the Week 17 loss was not all bad. Being overlooked is the fact that the Raiders shattered two all-time NFL records in their final game.
As the Associated Press reports, the Oakland Raiders shattered a 13-year-old record set by the Kansas City Chiefs in the second half of Sunday's game. During the opening kickoff in the third quarter, the Raiders were charged with a holding penalty. That penalty was the 159th penalty charged to Oakland, breaking the previous single-season record of 158, last set by the Chiefs in 1998.
One other mark was passed on Sunday. Namely, the 1998 Kansas City record for penalty yardage in a season: 1,304 yards. A first-quarter 15-yard personal foul by Matt Giordano took care of that one handily. All the other penalty yardage by the Raiders in the game was just icing on the cake.
Sweet, delicious, illegal, rule-breaking cake. Congratulations to all the Raiders players who chipped in to make this happen!
To throw flags at your fellow Raiders fans in celebration of this historical occasion, please visit Silver and Black Pride.