Raiders Bounced Out of Wild Card Round vs. Texans

Welcome in to the long-awaited full recap of the Raiders' Wild Card matchup vs. the Houston Texans where the Raiders make their postseason debut for the first time since 2003, but headed for an early exit as they lose to the Texans 14-27.

Raider Nation, this team deserves a standing ovation. I will stand up for a moment and clap for this team on one heck of a magical season that we'll remember. It was a season full of heart attacks, high blood pressures, and being driven to the point of insanity, but it was all worth it for double digit wins and a playoff berth. I could be mad that this team lost its first playoff matchup in a long time, but this team earned their stripes, gritting and grinding throughout the whole season in order to break 14 years of utter mediocrity and dysfunction. Unfortunately it didn't end well the last two weeks. But, this Raiders team will be remembered as the team that broke the playoff curse.

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Defense. The defensive unit as a whole played well. Yes they allowed three touchdowns, but what else can you do when the offense couldn't generate anything and are turning the ball over? I said in my preview that the defense has to blitz Brock Osweiler. Surprisingly, Ken Norton Jr. listened to what needed to be done in order for the defense to step up for Connor Cook. He blitzed! He actually blitzed. And it worked a majority of the time. Brock was rushing on his throws because of the pressure. The defense tried to put their offense in good position, forcing three and outs the majority of the game. When they were on the field for too long, that is when the Texans started to score. Khalil Mack lead the unit with 11 tackles. He was doing what he did best, stopping the run and putting pressure on Osweiler. Some turnovers would've been appreciated. They had a couple of chances, but the ball was going the Texans' way.

Jalen Richard, 5 punts, 68 return yards. Richard didn't do his damage in the run game, but he did so in the return game. His 37 yard punt return was probably the highlight of the game because if it weren't for that, the Raiders would've been shut out through three quarters. Richard did all he can to put the Raiders in good field position, especially on that return where he bounced off a defender and took it to Houston territory. That helped set up the Raiders' first score of the game off a TD run by Murray as the Raiders went no-huddle on offense.

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Wide receivers. This position being non-existent was just what Connor Cook and the offense needed. When Andre Holmes is the leading receiver with 50 yards and the only receiver to have a TD, that's when you know the receiving corps didn't do good. Michael Crabtree had 33 yards and a couple of drops. Amari Cooper only 10 yards and had a drop off a deep ball from Cook. Most of these were mistimed or underthrown passes by Cook. That's what happens when you have a rookie who hasn't seen any first team reps until now. That results in a drop in production by the receivers. Then again, Houston's secondary is underrated.

Running game. The Texans' run defense only allowed one rushing TD by Murray. Murray and Washington each had a nice run of 10 yards or more, but everything else was non-existent. It couldn't get any worse for Cook as the run game was stagnant. Texans just kept stacking the box and they predicted every run play that the Raiders called and executed. Their run defense is one of the best for a reason and there's nothing that the offense can do because they needed it to take pressure off Cook.

O-line. When I looked at the notification that Donald Penn was out, I knew that the offense would be in big trouble. Menelik Watson could not hang with Jadeveon Clowney at the left tackle spot. Austin Howard let Whitney Merciless get by him with ease to get to Connor Cook. To make matters worse, Rodney Hudson went down for a bit. Jon Feliciano had to take over at Center. The Texans were licking their chops that because they could blitz with ease. Luckily, Hudson returned late in the game to avert disaster or we could've seen a lot of pre-snap penalties and Connor Cook on the ground.

MVP

Jalen Richard, 5 kick returns, 38 yards, 5 punt returns, 68 yards

It's hard to decipher who was the MVP of this game, but the way Richard he played today, he deserves MVP. Cook needed good field position to work with and Richard had a couple of good returns to put the offense in position to score.

Conclusion

As I said before, it's a bitter end to the season. We've had a magical run, but unfortunately injuries just had to crush aspirations of going deep in the playoffs. But, Raider Nation this is just the beginning. All winning teams have steps. They win, they get playoff experience, and they are ready to compete for a Super Bowl. Unfortunately not most teams have that formula. Most of them are one and done. But, Reggie McKenzie, Jack Del Rio, and even Mark Davis have rebuilt this roster and re-established this program to compete long-term. They're putting this team to become something that matches the likes of the Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, Baltimore Ravens, etc. Those teams continue to think long-term and build through the draft. Look what that got us. Khalil Mack and Derek Carr in 2014. Amari Cooper in 2015. Karl Joseph in 2016. They've found some awesome value picks in the middle-later rounds rounds and diamonds in the rough in the undrafted free agent market, such as Marquette King in 2012, Latavius Murray in 2013, Gabe Jackson and T.J. Carrie in 2014, and DeAndre Washington, Vadal Alexander, James Cowser, Jalen Richard, Darius Latham, and Denver Kirkland in 2016. The future is bright Raider Nation and they will get better with this loss. With everyone healthy, especially Derek Carr, they will be in position to make noise and go all the way. Don't take this loss personally. I know I'm not. This is just the first chapter of the Raiders' return to dominance. The later chapters will get better from there. But, this season has been special. It really was. And I am privileged to have covered and witnessed a playoff game for the Silver and Black. I was only 9 when the Raiders made their last playoff appearance until now. This means a lot. With the way this team is trending upwards, I'm excited for next season to arrive. Thank you Raider Nation for following me on this wild ride of a season. I will post up a Season in Review post some time next week and I'll be back for Super Bowl LI, so I'm not quite done with football yet. But I'll see you guys next season.

Raiders AFC Wild Card Preview: @ Houston Texans

Raider Nation, we've been waiting for this moment for a long time. Welcome in to the preview post of the Raiders' 2017 Wild Card matchup vs. the Houston Texans at Houston. First time for everything, but I'll be helped big time considering the Raiders did play the Texans this season in a 20-27 victory down in Mexico City. I'll be placing a lot emphasis on the Texans because hey, "know the enemy."

Considering a regular season matchup between these two teams happened, there shouldn't be any surprises. But, the teams will make little changes to their game plan than last time. Definitely there'll be a big time adjustment on the Raiders' sideline since Connor Cook will be starting at quarterback. 

In all honesty, the Texans are better than what most people give them credit for. Yes, they have an anemic offense having a quarterback problem with Tom Savage and Brock Osweiler. But they've had success with their running game. Lamar Miller posted an 1,000 rushing yards campaign in his first year with the team. Their defense is criminally underrated. And the fact that they've done so without J.J. Watt all season is pretty impressive. Luckily, the Raiders don't have to worry about Watt, but Jadeveon Clowney has been coming into his own late this season and he's slowly, but surely living up to the hype as the #1 overall pick in 2014. Whitney Merciless is another pass rusher that the Raiders also need to account for. Romeo Crennel, the Texans' defensive coordinator, is probably salvinating on Connor Cook starting and will obviously put together an exotic defensive game plan to confuse the rookie out of Michigan State.

During the regular season meeting with the Texans, the Raiders looked really flat. But remember, they were coming off a bye and a big Sunday Night victory over the Broncos. Also, Mexico City has a very ridiculous altitude below sea level. They couldn't run the ball early on and full credit to the Texans' run defense for stopping the run game. Vince Wilfork can still eat up space and the Texans held opponents under 100 yards rushing per game during the season. However, the Raiders did beat them in other ways. Carr was able to find Murray and Richard out of the back field and they burned the Texans' defense with the half back screen game. Of course, Olawale had that big TD to tie the game up on the wheel route. Defensively, the Raiders were being gassed and they couldn't off the field on third down. It seemed like every third down play, Osweiler found C.J. Fiedorowicz over the middle for a first down and from there, the Texans continued to gash the run D with Lamar Miller. But, bend but don't break, the defense made critical stops when needed.

Everyone says it, the playoffs are a whole different ball game in the regular season. The Raiders put themselves in this position to on the road and possibly, go all the way. For Connor Cook, a Wild Card game as his first professional start is gonna put some pressure. Ball security and game management is going to be crucial for him. He made a couple of turnovers in the Broncos game, but those will happen when a rookie steps in against one of the best defenses in the league. As I said before, the Texans' defense is underrated, but they are beatable. 

Offensively, the offensive line is going to be a big time key for this matchup. Although, Penn and K.O. went down last Sunday, hopefully the initial prognosis is minor and that they'll be ready to go Saturday. If it stands, Penn, Osemele, Hudson, Jackson, and Watson have to impose their physicality against a stout defensive front and keep Cook clean all game long. Cook is going to need the run game to function so that he won't have too much pressure. That starts with the O-line to push around defensive linemen and create big running lanes. Murray, Richard, and Washington need to have the best games of their careers rushing-wise. They're very capable pass catchers out of the backfield, but if they can run through the Texans' stout D-line, it's going to make them harder to cover. The Raiders have relied on Coop, Crab, and Roberts in the passing game, but the Texans' secondary have been decent in keeping receivers in check. So Bill Musgrave, for Pete's sake, get Walford and Rivera involved as much as possible. They're going to help Cook big time. Then again, Walford and Rivera have to do their part to catch the ball since the Tight End position has been anemic all season long with their drops. 

On the defensive side, it's time for Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin to feast. Mario Edwards, Jr. already has two games in to knock off some rusts after being out for the majority of the season. Hopefully, we see Stacy McGee back in action to help bolster the defensive front. Also, Karl Joseph returns to reinforce the secondary. The pieces are in place for Mack and Irvin to wreak havoc on Osweiler. Osweiler ran over this defense and threw the ball at will. But now, he's facing a much stronger front. The key is that Ken Norton Jr. needs to call his best defensive gameplan as a coordinator. Honestly, he owes us with all the shortcomings all season long despite having better talent to work with than his first year. Place major emphasis on containing Miller, Hopkins, and especially Fiedorowicz and any other Tight End over the middle. Bring the heat on Osweiler and blitz!

This should be exciting. First playoff game in a long time. If the Raiders execute a great gameplan and follow any of the keys I mentioned on both sides of the ball, they have a very good chance of winning. It's time for them to stop moping about Carr's injury. Obviously, their heads weren't in it in the biggest game of their lives last Sunday with the AFC West up for grabs. Believe in Connor Cook and win this game by any means! I'll see you guys on Saturday.