If you were tuned into the AFC West Thursday night showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders, then you were likely scratching your head over a certain fourth-quarter pass from Derek Carr to Amari Cooper.
Cooper beat his defender like a drum coming out of his break and was wide open down the field. Carr could have underthrown the ball by a few yards, and Cooper could have come down with it.
Instead, the ball seemed to get caught in the breeze and veer off course. Cooper totally lost track of it and looked clueless as the ball landed well away from him on a play that would have been a sure touchdown for the Raiders.
Now video has come out that indicates the ball may have hit NBC’s Spidercam wires. The Spidercam system allows the network to give us those gorgeous overhead shots that almost put viewers right into the action. On this play, it sure looks like the wiring system cost the Raiders valuable points in a close game they eventually lost, 21-13.
See for yourself.
Watching this multiple times, it seems clear that the ball did get moved off its original course. This is something Cooper addressed after the game as well.
Amari Cooper says he was unable to make the catch, when he was wide open, because the ball changed direction at the last second.
— Henry Wofford (@HWoffordSports) December 9, 2016
Carr sure seems to believe that the wire had something to do with the play as well.
SpiderCam Wire………..
— David Carr (@DCarr8) December 9, 2016
Not surprisingly, NBC denies it was the Spidercam wire that impacted the pass.
Who knows what the game might have looked like if Oakland had scored a touchdown here?
There was still about nine and a half minutes remaining in the game at this point, and the Raiders lost by eight points, rather than seven. So it’s impossible to say this one play cost them the game.
That said, it certainly contributed to the outcome.