O’Brien’s call shows guts but results in no glory
Fourth-down failure, Hopkins’ lost TD deepen frustration
MEXICO CITY — Bill O’Brien believed his Texans desperately needed a final touchdown.
His team knew it gave another game away.
This was perfectly set up to be Brock Osweiler’s night.
Jadeveon Clowney’s ascension. O’Brien getting it right. Then Mexico City suddenly belonged to the Raiders, just like that.
From 20-13 Texans on an evening when Oakland couldn’t do anything to 27-20 Raiders and stinging disbelief.
DeAndre Hopkins slumped inside his locker. Clowney still trying to figure out how it all went wrong so fast.
From fourth down and 1 yard for a first at Oakland’s 15-yard line with 6:18 left in the fourth quarter to a gutsy but highly risky call that will haunt O’Brien the rest of this season.
“I thought we needed a TD,” he said.
The Texans needed a win and the right call at the right time.
Akeem Hunt fell a chain link short. O’Brien’s big late-game gamble — passing up three points and the lead — immediately backfired. A night that should’ve belonged to the sevenwin Texans became a 6-4 team that again got it wrong at the worst possible moment.
“I think I got it,” said Hunt,
MEXICO CITY — The Texans didn’t let Derek Carr’s 75-yard touchdown pass to Jamize Olawale bother them, too much, but it may have changed coach Bill O’Brien’s mindset just enough.
After Carr and Olawale had brought the Raiders back to a 20-20 tie with just over 10 minutes left, the Texans got a 39yard kick return from Akeem Hunt and methodically drove down the field against a Raiders defense that was starting to have its problems in the altitude of Estadio Azteca.
The Texans had a first down at the Raiders 24, and consecutive runs by Lamar Miller gave the Texans a third-and-two. Miller carried again and was pushed out of bounds near the first-down marker.
The ball was spotted at the 15 after a measurement. So O’Brien faced a dilemma. Kick the field goal and go up by three points with a little over six minutes left, or go for it.
“We needed a touchdown,” he said.
So, the Texans, who had converted a fourth-and-one on their go-ahead touchdown drive in the third quarter, went for it again.
Hunt got the carry and pushed his way on the left side, getting stopped when he ran into a Texans blocker on the ground.
“I thought I made it,” Hunt said.
But when the referees measured, it was perhaps less than inches short.
Out came O’Brien’s challenge flag. But after further review, as they saying goes, the ruling on the field stood as called.
“I could have challenged both calls,” O’Brien said. “I’m not going to stand here and get fined. I’m just a third-year coach. But with all these cameras and things we have and we can’t get that right?’
The Raiders took over on their 15 and scored in five quick plays to take a 27-20 lead. Whether they would have scored a touchdown after a Texans field goal …
“They have a good team and we knew they could score,” O’Brien said.
The Texans faced another fourth-down decision on their ensuing drive — officially fourthand-five from their own 44 — but O’Brien decided to punt rather than go for it.
“It looked more like it was fourth-and-six, so with maybe 3:15 left, I thought we could try to pin them deep and make a stop,” he said. “If we had to do it over again, I’d go for it.”
Instead, the Raiders got a 15yard return on Shane Lechler’s punt and started on their 20. On second down, Carr found running back Jalen Richards for a 29yard pass that essentially ended the game.
It left O’Brien and the Texans wondering what if and pondering calls they thought should have gone their way, going all the way back to the first quarter when DeAndre Hopkins was ruled out of bounds on what looked like a 60-yard pass and run from Brock Osweiler for a touchdown.
Replays showed Hopkins didn’t go out of bounds but O’Brien couldn’t challenge the call because the official had blown the play dead when he thought Hopkins stepped out at the Raiders 36-yard line.
“If you want to talk about (challenges), let’s go back to that one,” O’Brien said. “Did he look out of bounds to you? I had the flag out, but they told me I couldn’t challenge.”
Instead, the Texans ended up settling for a field goal on the drive.
It was just enough, in the end for the Raiders, who have made a habit of dramatic wins this season to tie the Patriots with the best record in the AFC at 8-2 and take a one-game lead in the AFC West.
The Texans — now 6-4 but still the presumptive AFC South champ and No. 3 seed in the playoffs — were left to mull the whatifs.
“Hindsight is always perfect,” O’Brien said.