Raiders head coach makes inexplicable fourth-quarter decision

On Sunday night, after the Las Vegas Raiders controversially kicked a field goal while trailing by eight points, head coach Josh McDaniels had this to say after the game:

"You have two choices there. You try to make it a five-point game where you have an opportunity to win it with a touchdown if you get the ball back. Or you try to go for it there, and if you happen to convert you have to make the two-point conversion, all the rest of it. So, those are the decisions you've got to make. I thought we did a decent job putting ourselves in third down there the next series with the defense to try to have a play to get off the field, and we just didn't handle that play very well."

All that's missing from that word salad are croutons and balsamic vinaigrette.

To recap, the Raiders trailed the Pittsburgh Steelers, 23-15, with 3:15 left. Las Vegas had a fourth-and-1 at Pittsburgh's 25-yard line.

After being backed up on a false-start penalty, McDaniels made the head-scratching decision to kick a field goal. Daniel Carlson's 47-yard kick was good, but a 15-yard leverage penalty against Pittsburgh gave McDaniels the option of a first down at the 14-yard line, even if it meant taking points off the board.

The Raiders took the new set of downs and reset the score to 23-15. After a six-yard gain and two incomplete passes, Las Vegas once again faced fourth down, this time at the 8-yard line with 2:25 left. A touchdown and a two-point conversion would tie the score. Even if the Raiders couldn't make the two-point try, they would only trail by two. If they held Pittsburgh and got the ball back with enough time, they could win the game on a field goal.

Hey, did someone say field goal?