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Deshaun Watson had the last word Sunday, making enough big plays to lead the Houston Texans to a 27-24 win over the Raiders at NRG Stadium.
The game-winning touchdown came on an improbably escape act where Watson threw a 9-yard strike to Darren Fells taking a foot to the eye, with Raiders’ edge rushers Arden Key and Maxx Crosby narrowly missing a sack.
Keeping the Texans alive with his arm as well as his feet, Watson completed 27 of 39 passes for 279 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He also rushed for 49 yards, including converting a fourth-and-1 first down on the first possession of the second half that led to a Houston field goal.
Afterward, Raiders coach Jon Gruden had seen enough.
“If you’ve watched Watson play, we’re not the first team he’s gotten,” Gruden said. “This guy is a spectacular player. He wills it out of his team and makes something out of nothing . . . you see Michael Jordan, some of the great athletic plays in any sport . . . we had him three times, and then he makes an unbelievable throw and the kid makes a great catch.”
For much of the game, Raiders’ quarterback Derek Carr had the upper hand. He was 18 of 30 for 285 yards and threw three touchdown passes. But the Raiders had the ball only three times in the second half when their defense couldn’t get off the field.
A look at some studs and duds as the Raiders return home from a five-game road trip with a 3-4 record and five of their next seven games at the Coliseum. The Texans improve to 5-3:
STUDS
Deshaun Watson: Watson was at his creative best and the Raiders, particularly in the second half, were helpless to stop it. Watson also played mistake-free football and didn’t throw an interception, although rookie Trayvon Mullen had a prime opportunity at a first-half pick-six that he couldn’t hold.
Deshaun Watson is UNREAL!@deshaunwatson | #OAKvsHOU pic.twitter.com/AInH5MDHR2
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) October 27, 2019
Derek Carr: Missed some open throws, but threw three touchdown passes and didn’t turn the ball over as the Raiders went into halftime with a lead in the city where he played high school football and watched his brother play quarterback for the Texans.
In two of the three possessions the Raiders had in the second half, they scored 10 points, so it’s hard to pin this one on the quarterback. A play in which Carr broke to his right and hit Tyrell Williams for a 46-yard score might have been his best play of the season.
“It hurts, first time coming back to Houston,” Carr said. “Had a lot of friends here. Wanted to play good in front of them and beat their team . . . everything is still in front of us. We don’t have a lot of control over a lot of things, but we can control how we prepare and try to win these games.”
Tyrell Williams: After missing two games with plantar fasciitis, Williams caught a a 46-yard touchdown pass on Carr’s role to his right to put the Raiders up 21-13 with 7:53 left in the third quarter. The play came against former Raiders corner Gareon Conley. Will lament two late potential catches — both with a high degree of difficulty — on the Raiders’ last offensive drive. Caught three passes for 91 yards.
“I know there’s two there that he wants back,” Carr said. “There’s probably two or three I could have thrown a better ball or we could have back.”
Said Williams to reporters”Missed opportunities for myself. Got to make those plays on that last drive. As a whole it was a good game for us, you can see you play with a good AFC team and you build from there.”
Another game, another touchdown for @TyrellWilliams_. #OAKvsHOU pic.twitter.com/hOyHDcA1Pu
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) October 27, 2019
Hunter Renfrow: Opened the scoring with a 65-yard touchdown reception from Derek Carr to give the Raiders a 7-0 lead. It was Renfrow’s first NFL touchdown. It was a short pattern in which Renfrow spun out of an ankle tackle attempt by Lonnie Johnson Jr. and found wide open spaces in the Houston secondary.
You can only hope to contain @renfrowhunter.#RaiderNation | #OAKvsHOU pic.twitter.com/aPdAa8oAzD
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) October 27, 2019
Josh Jacobs: Playing with a right shoulder injury, Carr managed to break off some nice gains while sharing the load with DeAndre Washington. Jacobs had 45 yards on nine first-half carries with a long of 23 yards. Gained 66 yards on 15 carries.
Darren Waller: Frustrated after seeing five incomplete passes head his way, Waller broke through on a rollout from Carr to score on an 8-yard touchdown reception to put the Raiders ahead 14-7 with 9:36 left in the half.
WILL NOT BE DENIED.
Darren Waller's third touchdown in two weeks puts us 🔙 🔛 🔝 #OAKvsHOU pic.twitter.com/gwvARA4jlw
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) October 27, 2019
Benson Mayowa: Collapsed the pocket for a second-quarter sack against DeShaun Watson. He leads the Raiders with 5 1/2 sacks. As a point of reference, Khalil Mack has 5 1/2 sacks.
Daniel Carlson: The Raiders place kicker converted a 44-yard attempt with 10:48 left to put the Raiders up 24-20. It was Carlson’s 18th consecutive field goal conversion from inside 50 yards.
DUDS
Raiders penalties: A holding penalty on Richie Incognito put the Raiders behind in terms of down and distance and forced a punt trailing 27-24 in the fourth quarter. That gave the Raiders 11 penalties for an even 100 yards. Maxx Crosby had a roughing the passer penalty to extend a Houston scoring drive as well. The Texans had five first downs by penalty, the Raiders zero.
Raiders run defense: The Texans got nowhere in the first half but were able control the ball and eat up clock in the second half. Carlos Hyde finished with 83 yards on 19 carries. Houston had 21 carries for 81 yards in the second half and during that span piled up a 20:47 to 9:13 time of possession advantage.
Lamarcus Joyner: The Raiders nickel back came up when Watson rolled right and Fells got behind him for a 4-yard touchdown catch to bring Houston within 21-20. To be fair, Watson’s ability on the perimeter put Joyner in a near impossible spot. The score capped a 15-play, 77-yard touchdown drive.
Right on cue.
A TE TD on #NationalTightEndsDay!@DarrenFells | #OAKvsHOU pic.twitter.com/tyMmZ6cIRj
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) October 27, 2019
Karl Joseph: Was defending on a play in which Darren Fells caught a 33-yard pass from Watson and was called for a facemask penalty that gave the Texans 15 more yards. It put Houston in the red zone, where they eventually scored on Watson’s 12-yard touchdown pass to Duke Johnson to tie the score 7-7. Joseph also missed coming up with a fumble on Houston’s 77-yard touchdown drive in the late-third and early-fourth quarters.
Rodney Hudson’s injury: The Raiders had only 10 plays with their starting offensive line before Rodney Hudson departed with a lower leg injury, leaving on a cart. Andre James, an undrafted free agent out of UCLA who never played center in college, was the replacement.
Duke has reservations for six!@DukeJohnson_8 | #OAKvsHOU pic.twitter.com/lBkgawC8Bs
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) October 27, 2019
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