The Oakland Raiders ended up with a heartbreaking loss to the Houston Texans falling 27-24 in Houston. The Raiders were up going into the fourth quarter but let the game slip away late with Deshaun Watson using his magic to make plays for their offense.
The Raiders defense let the offense down again, not being able to make a stop when the team needs it. The Texans were able to seal the game late, converting first down with Watson able to sneak out of the pressure and make plays on the run.
The running game was not as effective as it was in previous games, but it did the job, and Carr was killed by drops late in the football game. Let’s look at the winners and losers for the Raiders against the Texans.
Winner: WR Hunter Renfrow
The Raiders have been anxious for a wide receiver to step up and have a massive game for the offense. Against the Texans, that player was Hunter Renfrow, who had his most active game of the season against the Texans man to man defense.
Renfrow had his biggest play of the year taking a slant 65 yards on third down. Renfrow has displayed his improved route running over the last couple of games after struggling to separate early on in the season.
Renfrow finished with 88 yards and a touchdown, but his growth as a weapon in the offense is something to note going forward. The Raiders need as many receivers as possible me to compete for a wildcard spot, and the Renfrow making a more significant impact is massive for the offense.
Winner: QB Derek Carr
Derek Carr has been a good streak as of late with the steady play that has kept the Raiders with a chance to win late in games. Sunday was no different, with Carr having one of his best games of the season against the Houston Texans.
Carr finished the game with 3 touchdowns and a YPA of 9.5 on the day. Carr was accurate for most of the contest and was let down late with terrible drops on the final drive of the game. He was not sacked again, which plays a huge deal in his play, but the Raiders can’t get any better of performance from their signal caller than against the Texans.
The Raiders will continue to have rumors of whether the front office will move on from Carr after the end of the season. If he continues with this type of play, he will, for sure, be securing his home in Las Vegas with the rest of the Raiders’ young core.
Loser: LB Nicholas Morrow
Nicholas Morrow has been a fan favorite for as long as he has been in the NFL. He is known for ability in coverage, helping out the Raiders on the back end. Sunday, however, was not his best game, with him getting beat in coverage consistently.
Morrow was beaten last week on a touchdown, and this week was exactly the same. Duke Johnson scored on a touchdown where Morrow slipped and allowed Johnson to be wide open for a touchdown in the first quarter. He was constantly out of position on most of the time he was targeted with the Texans putting Hopkins over Morrow on big downs, helping them convert and move the chains.
The Raiders defense has plenty of holes, and linebacker has been a hole for the past six seasons. Morrow is not an upgrade over Burfict, but the Raiders weren’t any better with the reckless player on the field. The defense needs Morrow to step up his game to help them win games going forward.
Loser: WR Tyrell Williams
Tyrell Williams has been out the past two weeks with a foot injury, and the Raiders were happy to have him return to the lineup. While he did create big plays on the offensive side of the ball, Williams let the Raiders down when they needed him to make tough catches in the passing game.
Williams had two huge drops on the final drive of the game for the Raiders offense. Both passes were back shoulder throws where you expect a number one receiver to bring the ball in and help out his quarterback. Instead, the Raiders were faced with two massive drops that cost the Raiders the game.
Williams has to be a more reliable receiver for the Raiders to succeed. Williams has had a case of the drops this season that has plagued this offense from flowing like it should. Williams was paid a ton of money this offseason to be a dynamic receiver. He now has to step up when the Raiders need him.
Loser: Defense
The main reason the Raiders lost this game was the many penalties the Raiders faced on the day. When you are playing a playoff-caliber team, you cannot afford to have as many penalties as the Raiders earned Sunday against the Texans.
The Raiders finished the game with 11 penalties for 100 yards, with most of the penalties coming on the defensive side of the football. There was facemask, roughing the passer, and plenty of other infractions that kept the Texans on the field and able to finish off drives with points on the board.
The Raiders are not good enough to make up for mistakes against talented football teams. They have to ply completely clean football to end up with an upset on the road and to help secure playoff spots in the near future. The Raiders defense let the team down for another week.
