Raiders-Chiefs' insane ending needs an explanation

If you decided against watching the Thursday night contest between the Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs, you missed quite the night.

Two 60-plus-yard touchdown passes from Alex Smith, 210 yards and two touchdowns from Amari Cooper, and Marshawn Lynch getting ejected all seem like the most noteworthy ingredients of an exciting division matchup - but the most fun came at the end.

As the Raiders trailed 30-24 with 23 seconds to play and the ball at the Chiefs' 29-yard line, the final five plays produced some absolute madness that requires some explanation.

Play 1: 3rd and 10 at Chiefs' 29-yard line

The Raiders lined up in shotgun formation after throwing incomplete passes on the previous two downs. Derek Carr ignored the coverage in the area and threw the ball toward the goal line at tight end Jared Cook running a streak.

The play was ruled a touchdown, but after review, officials determined Cook was down at the half-yard line.

Play 2: 1st and goal at Chiefs' half-yard line

Following a 10-second run off, the Raiders lined up Michael Crabtree by himself against Marcus Peters.

It appeared Crabtree beat the All-Pro cornerback for the winning score on an easy jump ball, but something was peculiar.

Crabtree was so open because he shoved Peters to the ground, rightfully earning an offensive pass interference penalty and another play.

Play 3: 1st and goal at Chiefs' 10-yard line

With Crabtree's penalty pushing the Raiders back to the 10-yard line, Carr set up in the shotgun once more with three seconds to go, which generally means it'll be the final play.

Carr let the rush pass him, stepped up in the pocket, and attempted to float a pass to Cook again, allowing the tight end's height to do the work. However, the veteran could only get a fingertip on the pass.

But again, the play wasn't penalty free. Chiefs safety Ron Parker was flagged for holding, giving Oakland another shot from 5 yards out.

Play 4: 1st and goal at Chiefs' 5-yard line

The Raiders set up once again in the shotgun, hoping to find more success with the passing game.

Carr threw to Cordarrelle Patterson in the back of the end zone who hauled in the catch, but he couldn't stay in bounds, seemingly giving the Chiefs the win. However, the play drew yet another flag as cornerback Eric Murray was called for defensive holding and the Raiders got one more shot. For real this time.

Play 5: 1st and goal at Chiefs' 2-yard line

The Raiders had used pretty much all of their last-second red-zone plays by this point, so they went the unconventional route.

Carr rolled out to his left and spotted the man who already caught a disallowed touchdown on the drive, fitting the ball to Crabtree for a clutch score that gave the Raiders the win they needed to stay alive in the playoff race.