Most ‘horrific’ play Jon Gruden has ever been part of still bothers him

We witnessed the worst play of the year for the Las Vegas Raiders’ defense on Sarturday in a campaign filled with candidates for the worst play of the year.

The ridiculous face-mask penalty by Arden Key, the blown coverage, the incredible gumption of Ryan Fitzpatrick all enabled the Miami Dolphins to kick a game-winning field goal to take a stunning 26-25 victory over the Raiders at Allegiant Stadium in a Week 16 game that knocked them out of the playoff picture. This all happened after the Raiders took the lead with 19 seconds to go.

Even a two-day cooling off period didn’t ease the pain for Raiders coach Jon Gruden. On Monday, he called the play “horrific,” “a shame,” “a disgrace” and “lousy.”

“I have a regret because we lost the game on the most horrific play I’ve ever been associated with,” Gruden lamented. “You have 19 seconds left with no timeouts at the minus-25-yard line. For us to not get off the field with a victory, it’s a shame, it’s a disgrace and it’s a reflection of me only. We have and we have to a lot better job than that … It goes down to one lousy play and it still sticks in my gut the wrong way right now.”

Really, who can blame him?