Week 13 Game Recap: Houston Texans 23, Oakland Raiders 14

What you need to know

Houston Texans

The Texans’ best offensive drives were two nine play efforts that gained 57 and 31 yards and resulted in a missed field goal and a punt. A five play 19 yard drive in the fourth quarter netted a field goal. None of Houston’s other eleven possessions gained double digit yardage and six of them lost yardage. (The final drive was a one play kneel down for minus one yard.) David Carr did not complete a pass in the second half and the Texans had negative five net passing yards for the day. Despite the offensive struggles, Houston somehow won the game.

C.C. Brown forced a ReShard Lee fumble on the Raiders’ fifth offensive play and Demarcus Faggins scooped the ball up and ran 58 yards for the game’s first score. A 34 yard punt return by Chris Carr helped set up a short Justin Fargas touchdown run and evened the score early in the second quarter. David Carr was sacked and fumbled on three consecutive snaps later in the quarter. Carr lost two of the fumbles. The second one was returned 35 yards by Kirk Morrison and gave Oakland a 14-7 lead.

Jerome Mathis, the Texan’s Pro Bowl return man, played for the first time this season after recovering from foot surgery. Mathis got off to a rough start, bobbling his first kickoff return in the end zone. For some reason, he decided to try a return rather than taking a knee and made it only to the Houston four yard line before being swarmed by Raiders. Mathis made up for the error by returning the second half kickoff 87 yards to the Oakland three yard line. Wali Lundy’s touchdown run on the next play tied the game.

Another big return, this one of by Dexter Wynn, set up the Houston offense at the Oakland 21 yard line. Though the offense would lose three yards, Kris Brown would boot a go ahead 42 yard field goal early in the fourth quarter. Randal Williams fumbled to end the next two Raiders’ possessions and the Texans capitalized with two more Brown field goals. DeMeco Ryans’ interception sealed the win for the Texans. Ryans was all over the field and had 13 solo tackles, with an assist, sack, interception, forced fumble, and fumble recovery thrown in.

Wali Lundy started the game at tailback. Lundy had 33 yards on nine carries with one touchdown and added two receptions for nine yards. Ron Dayne took advantage of his first action in four weeks and was Gary Kubiak’s running back of choice in this game. Dayne ran hard and was essentially Houston’s entire offense in the second half. 83 of his season high 95 rushing yards came after halftime, when the Texans did not complete a pass.

Oakland Raiders

The Raiders dominated the offensive statistics of this game, but nevertheless found a way to lose. Oakland had 21 first downs to Houston’s ten and outgained the Texans 302-124, but was victimized by five turnovers and two big kick returns.

Oakland was moving the ball during the game’s opening possession before ReShard Lee fumbled the ball after a 13 yard gain and Demarcus Faggins returned it 58 yards for a Texan touchdown. The Raiders responded with two second quarter touchdowns for a 14-7 lead. However, Justin Fargas returned the second half kickoff 87 yards to the Raiders’ three yard line. One play later, Wali Lundy’s run tied the game.

The contest remained tied until Dexter Wynn’s 58 yard punt return set up Kris Brown’ s 42 yard field goal about five minutes into the final quarter. The Raiders’ next two drives were killed by Randal Williams’ fumbles on consecutive plays. Kris Brown would convert two more field goals to give Houston a nine point lead with 2:15 to play. Aaron Brooks drove Oakland to the Houston seven yard line before DeMeco Ryans intercepted his final pass with only four seconds remaining. Brooks was under pressure throughout much of the game and was sacked five times. He completed 25 of 42 passes for 238 yards and two interceptions.

Sebastian Janikowski, who was experiencing back spasms throughout the week, was able to play, but missed his three field goal attempts.

Chris Carr helped set up Oakland’s first touchdown with a 34 yard punt return. He also had a kickoff return for 39 yards.

Oakland’s struggles on offense continued. The Raiders entered the league last in points per game, total yards per game, passing yards per game, and yards per rush. They have scored only three points during their opening possession this season. Eight possessions into Houston territory were converted into only seven points.

What you ought to know

QB David Carr, Pass: 7 - 14 - 32 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 3 - 5 - 0

After a career high 54 pass attempts last week, Carr attempted only 14 passes. He completed half of them for a paltry 32 yards. His long completion was a nine yard pass to Andre Johnson. Carr was sacked five times and was under pressure throughout the contest. Carr was sacked on three consecutive Texan plays in the second quarter and fumbled on each occasion. Replays showed that Carr was down before the first fumble. However, the play occurred with less than two minutes before halftime and officials failed to ask for a review. Carr’s second fumble was recovered and returned for a Raider touchdown. He was able to corral his final fumble. Carr was penalized once for intentional grounding. The Houston pass offense was so inept that the team had a net passing loss of five yards.

QB Sage Rosenfels

Backup quarterback, Sage Rosenfels is out for the season with a broken thumb.

RB Ron Dayne, Rush: 18 - 95 - 0, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (2 targets)

Dayne was given new life after a three week stint on the inactive list. He made the most of his opportunity and gained a season high 95 yards. Dayne gained 83 of the Texans’ 90 positive yards after halftime. Houston ran only eight second half plays that were not Dayne runs. Dayne gained 57 of those 83 yards on six consecutive carries during Houston’s longest drive of the game. Dayne showed some shiftiness and speed and displayed a hard running style that at times has been elusive for the big back. His long run was a 19 yard gain.

Dayne caught a five yard pass in the first half.

RB Wali Lundy, Rush: 9 - 33 - 1, Rec: 2 - 9 - 0 (2 targets)

Lundy started at tailback. He had seven carries for 26 yards in the first half. Lundy had a three yard touchdown run on the Texans’ first play of the second half. Lundy’s had one more four yard gain, before yielding to Ron Dayne for the remainder of the second half. Dayne had 15 attempts for 83 yards after halftime. Lundy did not have a bad game; Dayne just had a better one.

Lundy caught a screen pass for a seven yard gain and had another two yard reception.

RB Samkon Gado

Gado did not play in the game.

WR Andre Johnson, Rush: 2 - -4 - 0, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (4 targets)

Johnson’s four targets led the team. He caught one of those passes for a nine yard gain on Houston’s longest pass play of the game. Johnson ran two end arounds. The first gained seven yards, but the second lost 11.

WR Eric Moulds, Rec: 1 - 3 - 0 (2 targets)

Moulds had one three yard reception. His other target was an incomplete deep pass down the right sideline.

TE Jeb Putzier, Rec: 2 - 6 - 0 (3 targets)

Putzier had receptions of five and one yards.

TE Owen Daniels (1 targets)

Daniels was targeted once in the second half.

PK Kris Brown 3 - 4 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 11 points

Brown missed wide right on his first field goal attempt from 41 yards. He converted his next three tries from 42, 47, and 39 yards. Brown made both of his extra point attempts.

HOU Rush Defense

The Raiders gained 113 yards on the ground and averaged 4.3 yards per attempt. Justin Fargas had a three yard touchdown run. DeMeco Ryans was everywhere on defense. He had 13 solo tackles, with an assist, sack, interception, forced fumble, and fumble recovery.

HOU Pass Defense

Aaron Brooks completed 25 of his 42 passes for 238 yards. He threw two interceptions. The Texan defense did a nice job of pressuring Brooks and sacked him five times. Demarcus Faggins had a 58 yard fumble return for a touchdown. Former Clemson star, Dexter McCleon forced a fumble and had an interception.

QB Aaron Brooks, Pass: 25 - 42 - 238 - 0 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 3 - 13 - 0

Brooks completed nearly 60 percent of his passes for 238 yards. Brooks was pressured throughout most of the game and was sacked five times. He was intercepted twice. Brooks’ arm was hit as he was releasing a pass, causing the ball to hang up in the air for an interception. The other interception occurred at the very end of the game, when he was trying to force a pass into end zone coverage. Brooks was able to scramble three times for 13 yards. DeMeco Ryans almost intercepted a dangerous swing pass attempt to Justin Fargas. Had Ryans caught the ball, he would have had an easy touchdown. Brooks threw a perfect deep pass to Alvis Whitted that was dropped. Two of Brooks’ incompletions were clock-stopping spikes.

RB Justin Fargas, Rush: 14 - 49 - 1, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (5 targets)

Fargas was the Raiders’ leading ball carrier with 49 yards on 14 carries. His three yard touchdown run was his first score of the season. Fargas had one reception for nine yards, but dropped two catchable passes.

RB ReShard Lee, Rush: 6 - 42 - 0, Rec: 5 - 57 - 0 (6 targets)

Lee saw his most extensive action of the season and averaged seven yards per carry. He showed good quickness and ran hard. However, he lost a fumble that was returned for a touchdown.

Lee was a frequent target in the passing game and hauled in five passes for 57 yards. His long reception was a 15 yard gain.

RB Zack Crockett, Rush: 2 - 5 - 0, Rec: 2 - 19 - 0 (3 targets)

Crockett ran the ball twice for three yards. He caught two passes for 19 yards, including a 14 yard gain.

WR Ronald Curry, Rush: 1 - 4 - 0, Rec: 3 - 32 - 0 (4 targets)

Curry hauled in three passes for 32 yards. Curry dropped a pass, but was hit by a defender just as the ball arrived.

WR Randy Moss, Rec: 4 - 44 - 0 (7 targets)

Moss had caught only four catches for 34 yards in his previous four games. The Raiders tried to get him involved early. Oakland’s second offensive play was a quick slant to Moss that achieved a 21 yard gain. The play turned out to be the Raiders’ longest gain from scrimmage. Moss added three more catches for 23 yards, but did not have the breakout game Raiders’ fans have been hoping for.

WR Alvis Whitted, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (5 targets)

Whitted was targeted five times, but had only one reception for five yards. He dropped a well thrown pass that would have been a nice gain down the middle area of the field.

WR Jerry Porter

Porter missed the game with a hip injury. He has only one reception on the season.

TE Randal Williams, Rec: 6 - 46 - 0 (7 targets)

Williams was tied for the team lead in targets. He caught six passes for 46 yards. However, Williams did not protect the ball adequately and lost fumbles on consecutive Raider plays. The fumbles allowed the Texans to amass a nine point lead late in the game.

TE Courtney Anderson, Rec: 2 - 18 - 0 (2 targets)

Anderson had two receptions for 18 yards.

TE John Madsen, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (2 targets)

Madsen caught an eight yard pass late in the game. Aaron Brooks tried to hit Madsen in the end zone on his final pass attempt, but was intercepted.

PK Sebastian Janikowski 0 - 3 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 2 points

Janikowski was limited all week with back spasms, but was able to handle the kicking duties for the game. He hit both of his extra point attempts, but missed all three of his field goal tries. Janikowskis’ 53 yard attempt was not close. It was a low line drive and was wide left. Janikowski hit the left upright on his other two attempts (from 37 and 29 yards.

OAK Rush Defense

Houston averaged four yards per carry and gained 129 net yards rushing. Ron Dayne gained 95 yards overall and had 83 yards in the second half. Wali Lundy had a three yard touchdown run. Thomas Howard had nine solo tackles and an assist.

OAK Pass Defense

It would be hard to have a better day than Oakland’s pass defense did. Houston had negative five net yards passing. The Texans were unable to establish any consistency in the passing game. The Raider defense pressured Carr frequently and sacked him five times in the game. Derrick Burgess had a sack and a half and forced a fumble. Warren Sapp also forced a fumble with a sack. Kirk Morrison recovered the ball and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown. Terdell Sands and Tommy Kelly also had sacks. Kelly’s forced a fumble.