The Oakland Raiders play host to the Houston Texans at O.co Coliseum on Sunday afternoon. Oakland enters in search of its first win while Houston comes to town after beating Washington in Week 1.
How to watch Texans vs. Raiders 2014 online, TV schedule, radio and more
Derek Carr searches for his first NFL win as the Texans hope to improve upon a nice start.
Bob Levey
Oakland made the decision to start rookie quarterback Derek Carr over veteran Matt Schaub, and Carr played well against the New York Jets. Carr completed 20-of-32 passes for 151 yards and a pair of touchdowns while getting little help from his running backs. Maurice Jones-Drew and Darren McFadden combined for 26 yards on 13 carries.
Houston toppled Washington 17-6 to begin the Bill O'Brien era, leaning on Arian Foster, who rushed 27 times for 103 yards along with a pair of receptions. Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins also had big afternoons, going for 93 and 89 receiving yards respectively, with Johnson adding a touchdown.
How to watch
Where: O.co Coliseum
When: 4:25 p.m. ET
TV: CBS
Announcers: Andrew Catalon, Steve Tasker and Steve Beuerlein
Radio: Texans local listings | Raiders local listings
Online streaming: NFL Sunday Ticket, Verizon NFL Mobile
Odds
The visiting Texans are two-and-a-half point favorites heading into O.co Coliseum. The over/under is set at 40. You can check out details at Oddshark.
Nuts and Bolts
After releasing Schaub in the offseason, the Texans signed veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick to run the offense. The former Harvard star was solid against Washington, completing 14-of-22 passes for 206 yards and a touchdown. With Hopkins and Johnson on the outside, Fitzpatrick has a dynamic duo which rivals almost any in the league. The defense also promises to be solid, led by J.J Watt, who had 10.5 sacks last year and is now flanked by No. 1 overall pick Jadeveon Clowney. Unfortunately, Clowney is sidelined with a torn meniscus for the next 4-6 weeks.
Oakland has been through consecutive 4-12 seasons under Dennis Allen and is trying to compete in the AFC West. The Raiders had all sorts of problems in the run game, ranking dead last in rushing yards (25) and rushing yards against (212). Oakland expects to be better defensively after retooling heavily in the offseason by adding Tarell Brown, Carlos Rogers, Justin Tuck and LaMarr Woodley via free agency. The team also selected linebacker Khalil Mack with the fifth-overall selection in May's draft.
Further reading
For more on the Texans, check out Battle Red Blog.
To learn more about the Raiders, head over to Silver and Black Pride.
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