REPORT CARD
OVERALL GRADE C The Texans could have upset the Raiders. They led 17-13 in the fourth quarter before allowing two long Derek Carr touchdown passes when their defenders just seemed to run out of gas. QUARTERBACK B- Brock Osweiler played his best road game. He played about as well as he could, but the Texans still scored only two touchdowns and blew their chance for an upset. RUNNING BACKS B Lamar Miller carried 24 times for 104 yards and a touchdown. He helped the Texans run for 124 yards. No other back contributed much. RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS B- The receivers and tight ends caught passes all over the field. C.J. Fiedorowicz was targeted 10 times and caught a team-best six passes. OFFENSIVE LINE C They did a good job of run blocking, but they couldn’t provide the push to convert on a crucial fourth and 1 in the fourth quarter. They also did a quality job on pass protection. DEFENSIVE LINE B They were outstanding in the first half. They shut down Oakland’s running game, but they couldn’t get to quarterback Derek Carr, especially when they needed to in the fourth quarter. LINEBACKERS C They played exceptionally well in the first half, but they had problems covering the Raiders’ fast running backs. No sacks and no turnovers. DEFENSIVE BACKS C They had too many penalties and looked like they just ran out of gas in the fourth quarter in the high altitude when the Raiders ran right by them for two long touchdown passes. SPECIAL TEAMS Tyler Ervin fumbled a kickoff that led to an Oakland field goal. He left with a chest injury. Nick Novak kicked two field goals. Akeem Hunt had a nice kickoff return, but they couldn’t capitalize on the good field position. COACHING C- Bill O’Brien and his staff had their team ready to play. Rather than go for a short field goal late in the game to break a tie, O’Brien went for it on fourth down and got a bad spot by the officials. The Raiders scored on the ensuing possession to pull out the win. O’Brien also failed to challenge what should have been a first down on the thirddown play.