A 27-20 loss to the Raiders felt like the one that got away for the Texans defense, a frustrating loss that nearly wasn't.
The Texans defense had an outstanding start, allowing just seven net yards rushing until halftime and keeping the Oakland Raiders to just three points off a pair of Houston turnovers. The defense even added a big third-quarter interception that led to a touchdown drive by the offense. It wasn't enough.
"It's very tough," Jadeveon Clowney said. "We should have won this game. I still am going to say that. We should have won and we gave this one away, slipped out of our hands. Got to get ready and prepare for San Diego."
Up until the third quarter, Derek Carr had just 109 yards passing, one touchdown and one interception. Running back Latavius Murray had 12 yards rushing.
"Obviously, we're used to running the ball better than we did," Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio said. "Romeo [Crennel] is a good coach, he had a good plan, and defensively their front played very well. Clowney played very well. He was dominant tonight."
The Raiders did have success on a four-minute drive late in the game that solidified the win. But even with two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter, the Raiders were just 4-of-11 on third down conversions. The Texans defense kept Oakland 1-of-4 on red zone trips and 0-of-2 on goal-to-go efficiency.
"Yeah, I thought our defense really played tough the whole night," head coach Bill O'Brien said. This is an offense in Oakland that they're going to make plays at times during the game. Like I've said, they've had many games where they've scored 30-plus points. One game where Carr threw for 500 yards, I thought our defense played a very tough football game. It's the NFL. They've got a good team, we've got a good team. And they came out on the winning end, give them a lot of credit."
The Texans return home to host the San Diego Chargers in Week 12.
