Raiders Try To Turn Things Around Vs. Texans

The Las Vegas Raiders will be coming off their bye week when they play host to the Houston Texans at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sunday, and will try to get their season headed in the right direction in Coach Josh McDaniels’ first year with the team.

The Raiders have started 1-4, losing those four games by a total of 19 points, while the Texans are 1-3-1, having played the Indianapolis Colts to a 20-20 tie before losing three consecutive games to the Denver Broncos, the Chicago Bears and the Los Angeles and then beating the Jacksonville Jaguars, 13-6, in their last outing before also having a bye week.

McDaniels is wary of the Texans, despite their record, because of one aspect of their game.

“The [Texans secondary is] tremendous, the best team we’ve played in terms of pass defense and the way they’re playing,” McDaniels said. “I think it starts with the fact that they’re all tied together. They don’t play just one coverage; they play a multitude of things depending on the situation you’re talking about. They’re always in the right position; they play with very good technique. They don’t let the ball go over their head and they challenge every throw whether it’s inside, outside, short, deep, intermediate.

“They have a lot of pass breakups. They’ve gotten their hands on a lot of balls, they finish well on the ball, and then tie that in with a tremendous pass rush, that’s the formula. You’ve got to be careful with what you’re trying to do and how long you’re trying to hold it, but you need some time to create some space and get open. There’s a balance there. They obviously have done it as well as any other team in the league on defense.”

Even though the history of the two teams doesn’t favor the Raiders, they are favored by a touchdown in the first game the teams will in Las Vergas play since the Silver and Black moved there in 2020.

The Texans became an NFL expansion team in 2002, after the Houston Oilers left town to become the Tennessee Titans, and have claimed six AFC West championships, but have yet to make it to the Super Bowl, or even the AFC Championship Game.

However, against the Oakland Raiders, now in Las Vegas, the Texans have a dominating 12-6 record, winning three of the last four games after taking five of the first six.

The last time the Raiders played the Texans, quarterback DeShaun Watson threw touchdown passes of nine and four yards to wide receiver Darren Fells in the fourth quarter and Houston pulled out a 27-24 victory over Oakland before 71,893 ecstatic fans at NRG Stadium in Houston.

Derek Carr passed for 285 yards and touchdowns of 65 yards to Hunter Renfro, eight yards to Darren Waller and 46 yards to Tyrrell Williams to give the Raiders a 21-13 lead in the third quarter, but they couldn’t hold on for the victory.

The only time the Raiders and Texans met in the playoffs came in a 2016 AFC Wild Card game, again at NRG Stadium, where quarterback Brock Osweiler passed for 168 yards and a two-yard touchdown to DeAndre Hopkins in addition to scoring from one yard on a quarterback sneak to lead Houston to a 27-14 victory.

Carr missed the game because he sustained a broken right leg late in the season after leading the Raiders into playoff position with a 12-4 record.

The last time the Raiders beat the Texans came earlier in the 2016 season, when Carr hit Jamize Olawale with a 75-yard touchdown pass and Amari Cooper with another score from 35 yards in the fourth quarter to pull out a 27-20 victory before 76,473 fans at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.

Carr passed for 295 yards and another touchdown of 17 yards to Jalen Richard as the Raiders improved to 8-2.

Raider Nation is hoping for more of the same from Carr on Sunday.

The Raiders had a bye week for Week 6 of the NFL season. They return to action in Week 7 when they host the Houston Texans at 1:05 p.m. PDT and can be seen on CBS.

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