Oakland Raiders: Matt Schaub’s First Pass Is An $8 Million Fake FG Interception [GIF]

If the “Black Hole” didn’t exist, I’d feel sorry for Oakland Raiders fans. Since it does, I’ve replayed this five times, and it gets better with age.

When Raiders owner Lloyd Christmas Mark Davis and GM Reggie McKenzie pulled the trigger on the Matt Schaub trade, I laughed. Not because Schaub—a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away—hadn’t been a decent quarterback at one point in his career, but because the franchise has amnesia.

It’s like a reality show based on Memento. All of the skulls and bones are fitting because Oakland is a graveyard for once-promising careers.

Yet the higher-ups still think to themselves, “This time! This time it shall be different!” Every time a big-name newcomer dons the Silver and Black, their production base jumps. So obviously, the logical thing to do is trade assets for a then-32-year-old quarterback who’s coming off crafting one of the worst seasons in the history of his position.

Last Sunday birthed the epitome of ineptitude. The embodiment of “Wut?”

In a scoreless game with 11:18 remaining in the first quarter, the Raiders were facing 4th-and-11 from Cleveland’s 39-yard line. Suddenly, Sebastian Janikowski splits out to the toward the right sideline, while the left wing becomes a gunner. Schaub, the $8 Million Man, is by his lonesome in the backfield.

This is already dripping with greatness.

When the ball is snapped, the right end pulls around and runs what appears to be a swing route. Schaub mishandles a low snap, retreats, grabs the ball, sets, overthrows said target and starting safety Tashaun Gipson plucks the pass en route to a 33-yard return.

Here’s a lengthier version:

Oakland Raiders: Commitment to Decadence.