In a game that didn’t feature all that many surprises, perhaps the biggest came 90 minutes before kickoff.
Raiders guard Kelechi Osemele, the man viewed by many as the catalyst for the resurgence of the team, appeared on the inactive list, with an illness. After the game, coach Jack Del Rio explained that Osemele was treated at a local hospital on Thursday morning.
By all appearances, no one was treated to the information that Osemele was ill. As learned a year ago when Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen was a surprise scratch prior to a game against the Chiefs (coincidentally), the NFL requires any team who has a player with an injury or illness that could impact his ability to play after the filing of the final injury report to announce the injury or illness to the local media (including the Associated Press) and the network televising the game. The information also must be given to the other team’s P.R. director and the NFL.
The Raiders, as best PFT can tell, didn’t disclose that information to all required parties. The league likely will say it’s looking into the situation, and then we’ll likely never hear anything more about it -- in large because the league in most cases (most, not all . . . #DeflateGate) doesn’t like to make it known to the world at large that there may be shenanigans when it comes to inside information that could be valuable to those who would use inside information in order to gain financial value via the primary industry of the Raiders’ potential new home.