Think of the worst nightmare you ever had. Now imagine how it would feel if you woke up and everything in that nightmare really happened.
This is the fate that awaits Travis Goethel on Tuesday morning.
After Oakland Raiders long snapper Jon Condo was forced to exit Monday's game against the San Diego Chargers with a head injury, Goethel took over and ... well ... imploded. Two second-half snaps literally rolled to punter Shane Lechler. When the third-year linebacker did manage a good snap, Lechler had the bejeezus blocked out of his punt attempt.
Special-teams calamities weren't the only reason for the Raiders' 22-14 season-opening loss to the Chargers, but it certainly didn't help matters.
"He's worked on snapping the ball, and actually he's done a nice job in practice, but it's obviously a lot different when you get in a game-like situation," Raiders coach Dennis Allen said after the game. "He was put into a tough situation, and it hurt us."
The trio of miscues led to three field goals for the Chargers. The Raiders lost by eight points. Poor Travis Goethel would rather you not do the math.
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @danhanzus.
