With all due respect to the Raiders, there’s really only one reason to watch today’s Texans / Raiders game, and it has nothing to do with Oakland. And if there were two reasons, the second would also belong to the Texans. At least Oakland can say it’s giving its home fans a reason to head to today’s 4:25 EST game at O.Co Coliseum.
Houston defensive end JJ Watt got a massive contract extension during the preseason. If anyone doubted why, they need look no further than the Texans’ win last week over the Washington Redskins.
Watt had to hold down the Houston defense throughout the game as rookie linebacker Jadeveon Clowney left the game with a knee injury. Indeed he did. Watt blocked the extra point on the Redskins’ lone touchdown, sacked Robert Griffin III (RG3), hit him five additional times, recovered a fumble, knocked down a pass and had two tackles for a loss.
Watt will be called upon again to be the anchor in today’s Raiders game. Clowney had surgery on Monday to repair his meniscus and will be sidelined for the next 4-6 weeks.
The Oakland Raiders were expecting big things from their rushing game this season, even with the All-Pro Watt looming in today’s Week 2 game. Yet in their loss last week to the NY Jets, Oakland was outgained 402 yards to 158, with the running game accounting for just 25 yards.
When the Raiders last hosted the Texans, in 2010, Houston was the one with the strong ground game. In that game running back Arian Foster had 133 yards, more than half of which came on a 74-yard touchdown run. Quarterback Matt Schaub, playing for the Texans at the time, had a meager stat line. In today’s Texans / Raiders game he’ll be looking for a better performance, but he’ll be doing so as the Raiders’ new QB.
Today’s Houston Texans / Oakland Raiders game is live on TV on CBS. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:25pm EST / 1:25pm PST. You can also watch Texans vs Raiders game live online free Week 2 using the CBS Sports website or DirecTV’s website. The latter requires you to have an NFL Sunday Ticket MAX package, which requires a subscription. All subscribers can watch the game online free via the DirecTV live stream if they have to use a smartphone, tablet or PC.
