Raiders emerge victorious after furious rally, but…
HOUSTON — The Raiders got here to Houston trying for readability.
They received it, particularly about their best gamers.
Between a tough joint observe against the Texans on Tuesday and Thursday night time’s 22-20 preseason victory, in which they trailed 20-3 before mounting a furious second-half comeback that includes the bottom-of-the-roster gamers for both groups, the Raiders acquired a candid evaluation of where they stand against one of the NFL’s elite groups.
It was just about what anybody paying consideration anticipated.
The Raiders got here to Houston trying for readability. AP Photo/David J. Phillip
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell passes against the Houston Texans during the second half of an NFL preseason soccer sport on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, in Houston. AP Photo/Ashley Landis
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That didn’t make it any less painful.
From the top of the roster to the underside, the Texans are deeper, more proficient and additional along than the Raiders.
And now, it isn’t significantly close even though the Raiders left the sector in a better temper than they began the exhibition sport.
That’s a sobering reminder of how a lot ground the Raiders still have to cowl before they will stand shoulder to shoulder with the NFL’s best.
The distinction this time is they appear to comprehend it.
Las Vegas Raiders operating back Roman Hemby (37) runs past Houston Texans cornerback Brandon Codrington (17) during the second half of an NFL preseason soccer sport on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, in Houston. AP Photo/David J. Phillip
Unlike seasons past, when the Raiders often operated under grand illusions about how close they had been to rivalry, this model of the franchise seems to perceive precisely where it’s. Under coach Klint Kubiak, the Raiders have embraced the long highway back quite than looking out for shortcuts.
That requires endurance. Smart drafting. Development. And most likely a few uncomfortable afternoons and evenings like those they skilled in Houston.
Those moments are inevitable when rebuilding one thing accurately.
The important factor is studying from them.
Here are three issues that stood out Thursday:
Missed alternative
After suggesting he may play his starters following their poor displaying in Tuesday’s joint observe, Kubiak in the end reversed course and sat them Thursday.
In the grand scheme of a preseason, that choice won’t matter.
In real time, though, it felt like a missed alternative.
Especially when the Texans — a group coming off three consecutive playoff appearances — opened the sport with C.J. Stroud and a lot of their beginning offense on the sector.
If Houston believes there may be worth in those reps, the Raiders actually shouldn’t take into account themselves above them.
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They merely aren’t at a stage where alternatives to construct cohesion and chemistry ought to be casually handed up.
Their offensive line stays a work in progress. Their defensive entrance was pushed around far too often Tuesday. And there are new systems being put in on both sides of the ball under a new teaching workers.
Those are precisely the circumstances in which another 10 or 15 significant snaps together may have been useful.
The Raiders aren’t anticipated to play their starters in next week’s preseason finale against the 49ers, which means Thursday might have represented their ultimate alternative to work together in a sport setting before the common season.
That made sitting them really feel like a probability left on the desk.
The Raiders aren’t anticipated to play their starters in next week’s preseason finale against the 49ers, which means Thursday might have represented their ultimate alternative to work together in a sport setting before the common season. AP Photo/Ashley Landis
Raiders’ protection wants work
Yes, the Raiders’ beginning protection never took the sector Thursday.
That caveat issues.
But after watching the first unit wrestle against the run in last week’s preseason opener against Arizona and again during Tuesday’s joint observe, what occurred Thursday felt like an extension of a troubling theme.
Houston operating back Woody Marks needed just 4 carries to gain 37 yards, a whopping 9.3 yards per attempt, including a 20-yard run.
The numbers ultimately leveled off as Houston labored deeper into its roster.
By then, though, the purpose had been made.
The Raiders look susceptible at the purpose of assault.
Part of the priority is depth. Part of it’s the absence of a confirmed difference-maker in the center of the defensive position who can persistently anchor against the run and power offenses to account for him.
That’s not an insignificant issue in a division where stopping the run will matter.
It would hardly be shocking if the Raiders scour the waiver wire and commerce market for defensive-line help as groups start trimming their rosters.
The move protection didn’t present a lot aid Thursday, either.
Davis Mills accomplished 11 of 15 passes for 93 yards as the Raiders struggled to generate stress up entrance and their younger defensive backs endured the predictable growing pains behind it.
Jermod McCoy, Hezekiah Masses and Treydan Stukes all have expertise. They also stay younger gamers studying on the fly.
Thursday was another reminder that potential and readiness aren’t the same factor.
Las Vegas Raiders operating back Roman Hemby (37) runs past Houston Texans cornerback Brandon Codrington (17) during the second half of an NFL preseason soccer sport on Friday, August 21, 2026, in Houston. AP Photo/David J. Phillip
Another big night time for Mike Washington Jr.
The Raiders already know they’ve a potential difference-maker in Ashton Jeanty, whom they chose sixth total in last yr’s draft.
They might have created a fairly good drawback for themselves with Mike Washington Jr.
One week after speeding for 63 yards on six carries, Washington adopted with 56 yards on 9 makes an attempt Thursday, highlighted by a 33-yard burst in the first quarter.
That’s 119 yards on 15 preseason carries.
Or 7.9 yards every time they hand him the soccer.
At 6-foot-2 and 228 kilos, Washington Jr. brings an intriguing mixture of dimension, energy and enough burst to flip a crease into one thing a lot larger.
And he’s starting to appear to be more than merely Jeanty’s backup.
When a group invests the sixth total decide in a operating back, the natural inclination is to feed him. Jeanty was drafted to be a centerpiece of Kubiak’s offense, and nothing Washington has executed modifications that.
But good groups don’t ignore manufacturing merely because of draft place.
If Washington Jr. retains operating like this, the Raiders may need to discover room for both.
That isn’t a controversy.
It’s a luxurious.
And after two tough days in Houston uncovered a lot of areas in which the Raiders still need help, discovering they may have one more official weapon than they initially thought qualifies as a fairly good comfort prize.
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