Jon Gruden played for a field goal instead of a touchdown at the wrong time and it cost the Raiders a shot at the playoffs

• The Las Vegas Raiders blew a late lead in disastrous fashion to the Miami Dolphins on Saturday night.
• In the final minutes, Jon Gruden had to decide between a touchdown or draining the clock before a go-ahead field goal attempt.
• Gruden opted for the field goal, taking a 25-23 lead with 19 seconds remaining.
• A calamity of errors on the next play led to the Dolphins' game-winning field goal.
• Gruden said he had no regrets about his decision to play for the field goal.

The Las Vegas Raiders' hopes of a playoff run were cut short on Saturday night by one key decision by head coach Jon Gruden that led to a heartbreaking 26-25 loss against the Miami Dolphins.

The Raiders led throughout the game until the Dolphins turned the offense over to backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who immediately sparked life in the Miami attack.

After trading touchdown drives late in the fourth quarter, the Raiders got the ball back with just under three minutes remaining, trailing 23-22 thanks to a missed extra point earlier in the game.

After a Dolphins penalty put the Raiders at first-and-goal, Gruden was left with two options: punch in the touchdown to take a lead of either five or seven points depending on the outcome of the two-point conversion attempt, or drain the clock as long as possible before kicking a field goal.

The Dolphins were out of timeouts, and a Raiders touchdown on third down would have left Miami with roughly one minute left to drive the field for a touchdown. Instead, Gruden played for a field goal on fourth down with running back Josh Jacobs intentionally going to ground short of the goal line.

The Raiders put the go-ahead field goal through the uprights, leaving the Dolphins with 19 seconds remaining in the game to get into position for a game-winning field goal.

As those final 19 seconds would prove, it was the wrong call.

The Dolphins took over possession from their own 25-yard line after a touchback. On their first play of the drive, Ryan Fitzpatrick found Mack Hollins running free after blown coverage from the Raiders defense, bringing the ball to the Raiders 40-yard line. Fitzpatrick was pulled down by his facemask during the throw, adding a 15-yard penalty on top of the play.

They call him FitzMagic for a reason.

With just one play, the Dolphins were in field goal range. Kicker Jason Sanders split the uprights two plays later to seal the Dolphins' improbable comeback.

Ultimately, Gruden's decision to play for the field goal cost the Raiders the win, and with it, a shot at the postseason. Had Las Vegas held on, the Raiders still would have been alive for a playoff spot heading into Sunday's action, though they would have needed help from the Ravens and the Dolphins in Week 17 to get there. But with the loss, the Raiders were mathematically eliminated from postseason contention.

After the game, Gruden stood by his decision.

"The play was to eliminate all the clock and all the timeouts and put them back with their back against the wall with 19 seconds left," Gruden said. "I don't regret it. I didn't want Fitzpatrick to have the ball. ... I didn't want him to be in a four-down situation. He's a gunslinger; he was hot. That's all I can say. I don't regret it one bit. I just regret the results.

"But 19 seconds left, on your own 25-yard line, with no timeouts? I've called plays a long time. The probability of getting that done is remote."

While the decision was a questionable one, it's easy to see why Gruden thought playing the clock was the more prudent play.

Earlier in the year, the Atlanta Falcons were faced with a similar quandary. When Todd Gurley rushed for a late touchdown rather than going down at the one, the Falcons gave the ball back to the Lions with too much time left and wound up losing the game.

The chances are that moment was running through Gruden's head when he opted for the field goal, and for what it's worth, Gruden's gambit would have worked had the Raiders defense been able to avoid making two back-breaking mistakes on the same play.

As much as we might want there to be one, there is no never-a-doubt right answer to end-of-game tactics. Whether you go up a field goal or up a touchdown, your defense still has to make a play or two on the other side to come out with the win. On Saturday night, the Raiders came up just short.