Despite a lackluster offensive performance, the Houston Texans did enough at home to earn a 23-21 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. The Texans maintained their spot as the final wild-card team in the AFC, while also staying one game behind the AFC South-leading Jacksonville Jaguars.
One week after scoring 40 points against the Arizona Cardinals, Houston’s offense struggled for most of the game against Las Vegas. Of their first nine offensive drives, only one had double-digit plays and none of them finished in the end zone. The offense had nine points through the middle of the fourth quarter, but held a 16-14 lead thanks to a defensive touchdown from Derek Stingley Jr.
However, when they needed to put something together to put away the two-win Raiders, the offense found a pulse. A 10-play, 88-yard drive in the fourth quarter ended with a touchdown pass from quarterback C.J. Stroud to tight end Dalton Schultz. That gave the Texans their first two-possession lead of the evening at 23-14.
The Raiders responded with a touchdown less than three minutes later, thanks to Ashton Jeanty’s second explosive TD of the game. Jeanty scored on a 60-yard touchdown reception on third down early in the third quarter and followed it up with a 51-yard scoring run late in the fourth. On the ensuing Texans possession, Houston faced a third-and-20, and the Raiders appeared primed to get the ball back and go for the upset. Instead, Las Vegas committed a crucial defensive pass interference to give Houston a fresh set of downs.