JaMarcus Russell threaded passes to Johnnie Lee Higgins, Chaz
Schilens and Zach Miller. Higgins showed off his game-breaking ability on
another punt return and Darren McFadden got involved in the offense early.
As another disappointing season nears its conclusion, some of the younger
Oakland Raiders tried to show there could be reason for optimism in the future.
Higgins caught one of Russell’s two touchdown passes and returned a punt 80
yards for another score, leading the Raiders to a 27-16 victory over the Houston
Texans on Sunday.
“You saw a lot of our young players show up and had an impact,” interim coach
Tom Cable said. “As I’ve said for a while, that’s the future of our organization
and that’s the direction we’re headed. It was a complete victory.”
The Raiders gained a season-high 362 yards, with 252 coming from players in
their first or second year in the NFL.
It’s the first time since the 2002 Super Bowl season the Raiders won their final
home game. The rest of the year has been much of the same losing for Oakland
(4-11), which became the first team in NFL history to drop at least 11 games for
six straight seasons...
JaMarcus Russell passed to Chaz Schilens to the right
for 20 yard gain (Sebastian Janikowski made PAT)
0 - 7
7:59
HOU
TD
Vonta Leach rushed up the middle for 1 yard gain (Kris
Brown made PAT)
7 - 7
3:42
OAK
FG
Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 33-yard field goal
7 - 10
0:05
OAK
FG
Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 30-yard field goal
7 - 13
2nd Quarter
6:11
HOU
FG
Kris Brown kicked a 53-yard field goal
10 - 13
0:38
HOU
FG
Kris Brown kicked a 24-yard field goal
13 - 13
3rd Quarter
9:56
OAK
TD
JaMarcus Russell passed to Johnnie Lee Higgins to the
left for 29 yard gain (Sebastian Janikowski made PAT)
13 - 20
5:44
OAK
TD
Matt Turk punt. Johnnie Lee Higgins returned punt for 80
yards (Sebastian Janikowski made PAT)
13 - 27
4th Quarter
9:55
HOU
FG
Kris Brown kicked a 40-yard field goal
16 - 27
Team Statistics
HOU
OAK
First Downs
17
17
Passing
11
12
Rushing
5
5
Penalty
1
0
Third Down Efficiency
3-13
7-14
Fourth Down Efficiency
2-3
0-1
TOTAL NET YARDS
324
362
Total Plays
61
60
Average Gain Per Play
5.3
6.0
NET YARDS RUSHING
90
139
Rushes
22
34
Average Per Rush
4.1
4.1
NET YARDS PASSING
234
223
Completions-Attempts
19-36
18-25
Yards Per Pass Play
6.0
8.6
Times Sacked
3
1
Yards Lost to Sacks
21
13
Had Intercepted
1
0
PUNTS
4
4
Average Punt
36.8
48.5
PENALTIES
1
2
Penalty Yards
15
14
FUMBLES
2
2
Fumbles Lost
0
1
TIME OF POSSESSION
28:31
31:29
Pregame Previews, Storylines,
and News
New Page 1
Preview:
The Houston Texans won't
be going to the playoffs, but
they still have something to
play for in the final two weeks
of the season. The same can't be
said for the Oakland Raiders.
The Texans look to extend their
franchise-high winning streak to
five games when they visit the
lowly Raiders on Sunday. Though
Houston (7-7) must wait until
2009 for a shot at securing the
franchise's first playoff
appearance, it still has a
chance at finishing with a
winning record for the first
time since entering the NFL in
2002...Preview
Prediction: This has ugly
written all over it, for the Raiders. Houston's won four straight and is a
different team with Matt Schaub. The Raiders are well, the Raiders. Texans 34 - Raiders 3
Video Preview: The Texans
look to extend their franchise-high winning streak to five games when they visit
the lowly Raiders on Sunday. Jason Horowitz and Charley Casserly take a look at
the matchup
Houston Chronicle
As they head into today’s game against theRaiders(3-12)
in Oakland, Calif., theTexans(7-7)
are playing the best football they have played...
Examiner.com
by Alan Burge, HoustonTexansExaminer
TheTexansare
facing a team that's 3-11 on the season, 1-6 at home, lost four of their last
five including three... Raiders-Texansadvance
boxAlameda
Times-Sta
11.3
26.9