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Week 9 Game Recap: Houston Texans 24, Oakland Raiders 17
What you need to know
| Houston Texans |
With Matt Schaub on the sidelines with injury problems, Sage Rosenfels made his third career NFL start for the Texans. He was mostly unimpressive but the Texans were able to move the ball against the generally strong Raiders' defense.
Ahman Green limped off the sidelines in the first half and Ron Dayne picked up the slack from then on. Green looked strong before leaving the game, including a nice touchdown run right over DB Stuart Schweigert.
The Texans' lost DB Fred Bennett for approximately one quarter in the first half after an ugly collision with Ronald Curry. More importantly, DB Dunta Robinson left the game after apparently hyper extending his leg early in the game. He thrashed on the ground in extreme pain for a few minutes and did not return.
Defensively, the Texans exploited the bad decision making of Josh McCown. They reeled in three interceptions. They looked bad on only two plays -- the long run after the catch for Jerry Porter on which he made two defenders miss tackles, and on the touchdown pass to Tim Dwight deep in the end zone where the defender simply lost him in the crowd. They were not able to stop the speedy Justin Fargas on the ground but the turnovers by McCown nullified any success in the running game for the Raiders.
| Oakland Raiders |
Lamont Jordan saw only limited action as Fargas was the featured running back for the Raiders. Fargas was hitting the holes quickly throughout the game. The third year veteran rewarded the coaches for the decision by putting up some nice numbers and making things happen on the field.
In an attempt to invigorate the struggling Raiders offense, coach Lane Kiffin opted to start Josh McCown for the first time since week 3. The plan backfired as McCown was terrible.
The only highlight for the Raiders in the game was the explosive running of Justin Fargas. Josh McCown completed only four of his ten first half pass attempts. He threw three interceptions in the game and nearly a fourth to DB Von Hutchins but the play was overruled by the officials upon review as he did not gain full possession before hitting the turf.
Defensively, the Raiders struggled to stop the running attach of Ahman Green and Ron Dayne. They allowed 178 total yards on the ground, which proved to be the key in the game for the Texans. They clearly missed the presence of injured DL Tommy Kelly up front on the line.
What you ought to know
| QB Sage Rosenfels, Pass: 11 - 19 - 181 - 1 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 7 - 19 - 0 |
Sage Rosenfels opened the first Texans' drive of the game with a play action bootleg run for 14 yards. He ran by rookie DL Jay Richardson on the play, who was playing for the injured DL Tommy Kelly. Overall, Rosenfels did not play particularly well and Matt Schaub's job should be safe. Rosenfels managed to make fewer mistakes than his counterpart Josh McCown and the Texans were able to hold on for the win. The deep touchdown pass to Andre Davis was slightly overthrown but Davis made a beautiful dive to feel it in for the score.
| QB Matt Schaub |
Matt Schaub did not play because of injury.
| RB Ron Dayne, Rush: 21 - 122 - 1 |
With Ahman Green leaving the game in the second quarter due to injury, Ron Dayne became the featured running back for Houston. Midway through the second quarter he had a nice looking run slashing through the middle of the field for a 14 yard touchdown.
Dayne was running with determination -- often just refusing to go down. He carried two Raiders on his back on a 15 yard gain in the fourth quarter. He topped 100 yards despite not being the featured back until the second quarter. He was easily the star of the game for the Texans, eating up the clock and yardage as they left the Black Hole with a victory.
| RB Ahman Green, Rush: 8 - 28 - 1, Rec: 1 - 53 - 0 (1 targets) |
Ahman Green took the ball 53 yards on a screen pass on the first drive of the game. Later on that drive, he motored right over DB Stuart Schweigert for a touchdown. In the second quarter, Green limped off the field. He did not return.
| WR Kevin Walter, Rec: 3 - 33 - 0 (6 targets) |
Alertly, Kevin Walter realized he hadn't been touched down after falling to the ground on one reception midway through the game and jumped up to gain another yard before being tackled in the second quarter.
| WR Andre Davis, Rec: 2 - 51 - 1 (3 targets) |
Andre Davis made a stunning full extension diving grab into the end zone in the fourth quarter. He just flew by the defender and stretched out his entire body and fell into the end zone to put the Texans back up by 14 late in the game.
| WR Jacoby Jones (2 targets) |
Jacoby Jones made no receptions in the win over the Raiders. He had one ball zoom through his hands in the second half that he should have caught.
| WR Andre Johnson |
Andre Johnson did not play because of injury.
| TE Owen Daniels, Rec: 4 - 41 - 0 (5 targets) |
On the first drive of the game Owen Daniels had the ball poked away by DB Michael Huff, but luckily the Texans recovered. Later, Daniels took a big hit from DB Stuart Schweigert but appeared fine. Daniels was Sage Rosenfels' most reliable receiver in the victory.
| PK Kris Brown 1 - 2 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 6 points |
Kris Brown made a 40 yard field goal at the end of the first half, but his first attempt of the second half was blocked by DL Jay Richardson.
| HOU Rush Defense |
The Texan's rush defense had a lot of trouble with the upstart Justin Fargas. Fargas made two nice diving plays over Houston defenders and seemed to slash his way through the defense.
Josh McCown also ran for four first downs against Houston including on a fourth and seven late in the game.
| HOU Pass Defense |
The Texans' defensive backfield suddenly found themselves very short-handed early in this game. DB Dunta Robinson suffered an excruciating leg injury in the first quarter. He appeared to hyperextend his right leg and remained on the field in agony through the commercial break. DB Fred Bennett was involved in a violent collision with WR Ronald Curry but he returned in the second quarter. DB Jamar Fletcher did not suit up because he had his appendix removed earlier in the week.
DB Fred Bennett made his first career interception off of QB Josh McCown. As a team, the Texans pulled in three of McCown's passes but it was nearly four as the officials overruled a pick by DB Von Hutchins in the second quarter because he did not maintain possession before he hit the ground.
The pass rush gave the Raiders two gift first downs in the fourth quarter which almost allowed the Raiders back into the game. On one third down, the Texans were hit with an obvious face mask call for 15 yards, and on the following third down they were called for unnecessary roughness.
Poor tackling led to the 32 yard gain by Jerry Porter. Porter made two defenders miss before he fell to the ground. On the touchdown pass to WR Tim Dwight, the Texans simply lost him in the crowd and he snuck deep in the end zone for the wide open touchdown reception.
| QB Josh McCown, Pass: 13 - 28 - 158 - 1 TD / 3 INT, Rush: 5 - 31 - 0 |
McCown made his first start since week three in an attempt to jumpstart the Raiders slumping offense. He looked bad early with two first half interceptions. He nearly had a third pass picked off in the second quarter but the play was overruled upon review by the officials. He completed only four of his ten first half passes. He fumbled a low snap early in the fourth quarter on a third down on a key drive but regained control and was the victim of a vicious facemask call which put the Raiders on the Texans ten yard line. On the subsequent third down, the Texans were called on a roughing the passer penalty which handed the Raiders another gift first down.
On a fourth and seven late in the game, McCown rolled out left and made his way out of bounds while gaining the first down. However, typical of his play earlier in the season, he threw his third interception of the game on the very next play when he under threw the intended receiver. The touchdown pass to Tim Dwight came only two plays after a badly shanked punt by Matt Turk went only ten yards and gave the Raiders' offense the ball on the Houston 31 yard line. McCown is proving himself unreliable and his errors are costing his team any chance at victory. He has thrown eight interceptions in the three complete games he has played and he is often inaccurate. He has made some nice plays with his legs, but it seems like whenever the Raiders put themselves in a position to win their quarterbacks make key mistakes.
| QB Daunte Culpepper |
Daunte Culpepper did not play in this game. The Raiders hoped that the return of Josh McCown would get the stalled offense going but that did not happen.
| RB Justin Fargas, Rush: 23 - 104 - 1, Rec: 2 - 15 - 0 (2 targets) |
Fargas started the game for the Raiders in the backfield. He was the featured back for the entire game and was hitting the holes fast and adeptly. He looked quick and ran with a purpose throughout the game. His carries have been increasing over the past few weeks and with his quality of play that should continue.
His touchdown was a dive into the end zone from the one yard line. Fargas made an incredible leaping dive to gain the first down on a screen pass with the time quickly running off the clock in the middle of the fourth quarter. He was running at top speed and then simply vaulted over two defenders to ensure the first down pickup. Fargas' speed and the extra effort he exerts will put him in a good position to retain the starting job in Oakland.
| RB LaMont Jordan, Rush: 4 - 10 - 0, Rec: 2 - 16 - 0 (3 targets) |
Jordan did not get his first touch until the second quarter of the game on a toss from Josh McCown which went 13 yards for a first down. He only seemed to see action when Justin Fargas needed a breather.
| RB Dominic Rhodes |
Rhodes saw action only as a kick returner.
| WR Jerry Porter, Rec: 4 - 55 - 0 (6 targets) |
Porter made a sensational catch and run in the third quarter. He broke the first tackle and sprinted down the sideline before spinning past the next defender and falling to the ground for a 32 yard gain.
| WR Ronald Curry, Rec: 2 - 12 - 0 (4 targets) |
Curry made a stunning juggling catch in the first quarter but the play ended up in a violent collision with rookie DB Fred Bennett. He returned to the game quickly despite the viciousness of the incident.
| WR Tim Dwight, Rec: 1 - 28 - 1 (4 targets) |
Recent pickup Tim Dwight played on the first drive for the Raiders but did not see much action early. With less than two minutes remaining in the game the speedy Dwight shed his defender deep in the end zone and McCown hit him for a touchdown.
With the release of Mike Williams, Dwight may seem more playing time for the Raiders.
| WR Johnnie Lee Higgins, Rush: 1 - 8 - 0 (1 targets) |
Higgins should also see more playing time with the release of Mike Williams. However, he was not much of a contributor in this game.
| TE Zach Miller, Rec: 1 - 3 - 0 (4 targets) |
Miller was quiet in the loss to the Texans. He made only one catch for a short gain.
| TE John Madsen (1 targets) |
Madsen dropped a ball in the end zone that was deflected right into his gut.
| PK Sebastian Janikowski 1 - 2 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 5 points |
Late in the second quarter, Janikowski attempted a 64 yard field goal. He had the distance for what would have been a record setting field goal but the ball went off the right upright.
| OAK Rush Defense |
The Raiders' defense was without DL Tommy Kelly who was having a great year before being injured in week 8 against the Tennessee Titans. His presence was definitely missed as the Raiders failed to log a sack and could not stop the run.
The rush defense was completely ineffective as both Ahman Green and Ron Dayne accumulated plenty of yards in the win.
| OAK Pass Defense |
DB Stuart Schweigert picked off Sage Rosenfels early in the second quarter on the Raiders one yard line. It was his first interception since 2005. DB Asomugha apparently suffered a leg injury and was seen on the sideline with an ice pack on his leg. He did not return. The Texans managed only one big pass play against the Raiders on the deep bomb to Andre Davis that eventually sealed the win for Houston. Otherwise, the Texans mostly kept to shorter routes including slants and passes over the middle.
