Oakland Raiders Vault: Raiders @ Texans, October 9, 2011 (The Al Davis’ Game)

Dec 6, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders pro football enshrinees light the late owner Al Davis (not pictured) eternal flame torch before the game against the Denver Broncos at O.co Coliseum. The Broncos defeated the Raiders 26-13. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The Houston Texans are the youngest franchise in the NFL, entering the league for the 2002 season.  As a result, their history against the Raiders is not particularly extensive: the two teams have met eight times since their first meeting in 2004.  Despite playing in different divisions, the Raiders and Texans meet almost annually, as the two have often found themselves struggling and falling to similar last-place finishes in their respective divisions.  But if the Raiders and Texans were to meet 100 more times, it is likely no game between the two could ever be as memorable as October 9, 2011, a game that Raiders fans might remember as the Al Davis Game.

Background

On Saturday October 8th, 2011, at 2:45 PM Pacific Time, Raiders owner Al Davis passed away at his home in Oakland at the age of 82, sending a shockwave through the Raider Nation and the NFL as a whole. Davis, who had spent the last eight years of his life in frantic efforts to put together another Super Bowl run, had been credited by many inside and outside the Nation for ruining the team, taking on massive contracts for players who did not perform, drafting a series of busts and head scratchers, and not allowing the organization as a whole to catch up to the 21st Century NFL.  He had been maligned heavily by Raider fans, outside pundits and ex-players alike in his final years, especially after his very strange 2008 press conference to announce the mid-season firing of Lane Kiffin.  But on October 8th, 2011, his death reminded all of us, Raider fans and outsiders alike, of the man Al Davis had been most of his life, the brilliant football mind who in many ways helped lead football into its modern era with his philosophies.  Head coach Hue Jackson, who had been promoted from Offensive Coordinator and was now in his first year as a head coach, had a very close relationship with Davis and appeared to take the loss particularly hard, as did many of the players.  With the weight of Al’s death on them, the Raiders had to take the field in Houston to play the Texans 19 hours later.

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The Texans, led by head coach Gary Kubiak, had only posted one winning season in franchise history and had never won more than nine games in a season.  They had never been to the playoffs.  In their years under Kubiak, with quarterback Matt Schaub at the helm, they had developed into a competent NFL team on both sides of the ball.  In 2009 and 2010, Schaub has posted two 4,000 yard, 20+ TD passing seasons while the Texans defense, led by Mario Williams and Brian Cushing, had developed into one of the best defensive units in the league.  Coming into the game, the Texans had a 3-1 record and were coming off a win the week before against the Pittsburgh Steelers in which a previously unknown running back named Arian Foster had rushed for 155 yards against the vaunted Steelers defense.  The Raiders were coming off their best season since 2002, having finished the 2010 season with an 8-8 mark that included a sweep of AFC West opponents.  Led by 6th year quarterback Jason Campbell, the team has gotten off two a 2-2 start that included an exciting Monday Night win over Denver in week one and win over the New York Jets in Week 3.  Raider running back Darren McFadden, coming off his first 1,000 yard season the year prior in Hue Jackson’s power running offense, had already posted 600 yards from scrimmage through four games, including 468 The Texans had won five of their six meetings against the Raiders by that point, including 468 yards rushing.  The Texans had won five of six meetings against the Raiders up to that point, including the previous two in a row, and were favored to win going into the Week 5 matchup at Reliant Stadium in Houston, especially after the devastating news about Al Davis the day before. Hue Jackson and the Raiders had other ideas.

The Game

Most of us remember the game vividly.  Part of the early slate, the game was carried in most markets by CBS, including throughout California.  Viewers saw the Raiders get off to a slow start.  After going three and out on their first drive, the Raiders punted the ball to Houston, and Matt Schaub promptly marched the Texans offense 65 yards down the field.  The 10-play drive included a 20 yard run from Foster on a 3rd and 1, and ended with a five yard touchdown pass from Schaub to Kevin Walter, putting the Texans up 7-0.  The Raiders went three and out again on their next possession, but on the subsequent Texans drive, an attempted dumpoff to backup tight end James Casey was picked by 2nd year defensive end Lamarr Houston – his only career interception to date – and returned 15 yards to the Texans 35 yards line.  After another three and out, Sebastian Janikowski came out to attempt his first field goal on what would turn out to be one of the best days of his career.  The 2000 1st round draft pick – a vintage Al Davis move – had tied the NFL record for longest field goal earlier in the season in Denver.  He came out and nailed a 54 yarder and closed the gap to 7-3 with 3:30 left in the 1st quarter.  The Texans next drive was a 3 and out, and punter Brian Hartmann came out and and let off a shanked punt under pressure from the Raiders punt coverage team.  The punt traveled 17 yards, and set the Raiders up at the Texans 39 yard line.  After being backed up by a penalty, the Raiders ran two plays to get back inside Janikowski’s range as the first quarter came to a close.

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The second quarter began on another big Janikowski field goal, this time from 55 yards out, narrowing the gap to a single point.  A few moments later, after another Houston punt, Jason Campbell threw a pick to Texans corner Jason Allen while trying to work the ball deep for speedster Jacoby Ford.  Schaub capitalized immediately, and hit a wide-open Joel Dreessen for a 56 yard touchdown, who had a ten yard head-start on an injured Rolando McClain.  With 12 minutes left in the half, the Texans led 14-6.  The two teams traded fruitless possessions until the two minute warning, with the Raider offense unable to muster up even a first down against the tough Texans defense.  After one Raider drive stalled inside their own 20, Shane Lechler – another Al Davis guy drafted in 2000 – hit a booming 57 yard punt to keep the Texans from having the short field. The Raiders got the ball at the 2 minute mark, and this time were able to move it.  Beginning at his own 27 yard line, Jason Campbell came out firing, hitting an 18 yard pass to Darius Heyward-Bey and a 13 yard pass to Derek Hagans.  A 42 yard run by Darren McFadden to the 1-yard line was wiped out by a holding call against Cooper Carlisle, but Campbell and the Heyward-Bey were not to be deterred.  Heyward-Bey, the 2009 1st round draft pick, had been held up as a symbol for the incompetence of the Al Davis regime.  He had the fastest 40-yard dash time at the combine, but no one in the league had him higher than a 3rd round pick.  Davis, always in search of the next Cliff Branch, had used the #7 overall pick on Heyward-Bey and signed him to a huge rookie contract.  Up to that point in his career, Heyward-Bey had underachieved, revealing his inconsistent hands and poor route running.  Less than 24 hours removed from Al’s death, Heyward-Bey played like a 1st round pick as the clock ran down on the first half.  Campbell hit Heyward-Bey again on a sideline pattern for an 18 yard gain, then found him again on a hitch route.  Heyward-Bey spun out of the tackle, and turned on his track star speed, dashing down the field for a 34 yard score, closing the lead to 14-12.  Campbell’s pass attempt for a 2-point conversion failed, and the Raiders went into the locker room at halftime down 14-12.

The Raiders came out in the 3rd quarter and were able to put together an 11-play, 37 yard scoring drive that soaked up nearly six minutes of clock and resulted in a 50-yard field goal from Janikowski: his third 50+ yard kick of the game, putting the Raiders ahead 15-14 with 5:12 left in the third.  Schaub came right back, however, starting off the next possession with a 41 yard strike to Kevin Walter.  A couple of Arian Foster runs put the Texans in deep field goal range, and Neil Rackers responded with a 54 yard field goal of his own, putting the Texans back ahead 17-15 with three minutes left in the 3rd quarter.  The Raiders answered quickly: Jacoby Ford took the ensuing kickoff back 45 yards from deep in the end zone, and the next Raider drive began at their own 39.  Darren McFadden, who had been limited most of the game and had a big run wiped away by a penalty, carried the ball three straight times for three progressively larger chunks of yardage: an 8 yard, 14 yard and 20 yard carry moved the ball inside the red zone as the 3rd quarter came to a close.  Two plays later, barely ten seconds into the 4th quarter, Jason Campbell hit his second touchdown pass of the day, stepping up and scrambling before hitting a crossing Chaz Schilens, who took the ball in from there.  With 14:50 left to play, the Raiders had gone up 22-17.

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The reinvigorated Raider defense stepped up and held the Texans to a three and out on their next possession, including a sack by big money Al Davis guy Tommy Kelly.  The Raiders got the ball back with 13:22 on the clock and looked like they were going to go three and out after Darren McFadden was dropped for a 2 yard loss on 3rd and 1.  On 4th and 3 from their own 37, the Raiders lined up in a punt formation but snapped the ball to up man and special teams wizard Rock Cartwright, who picked up the 1st down yardage and more, reeling off a 35 yard run on the Raiders biggest play of the day, setting the Raiders up at the Houston 28 yard line.  Three plays later, Janikowski hit his fourth field goal of the game from 42 yards out – a chip shot for the Polish Cannon – and gave the Raiders a 25-17 lead.  The Raider defense held Schaub and the Texans to another three and out, and Denarius Moore returned the subsequent punt 21 yards all the way to the Houston 40. Campbell and the Raider offense responded with a three and out of their own, but a 4 yard loss by McFadden put Hue Jackson in a difficult position: attempt a 61 yard field goal or punt?   While Janikowski was hot, Jackson – who had demonstrated his aggressiveness by calling a fake punt on the previous drive – played it safe and sent Shane Lechler on to punt.  Lechler responded with a beautiful hanging punt that was fair caught at the 7 yard line, meaning the Texans would need to go 93 yards just to be in position to tie the game.  Schaub certainly made his best effort: he led the Texans on a 15-play drive that got as far as the Raider 13 yard line when Richard Seymour – whom Al Davis had traded a first-round draft pick for before the 2009 season – sacked Schaub on 3rd down to force the Texans to kick a 41-yard field goal to close the Raider lead to 25-20 with less than three minutes to go in the game.  The Texans, with a timeout remaining and trusting their defense to keep the Raiders from converting another first down, kicked the ball deep.  Three plays – including a five yard loss by McFadden – later, and Kubiak’s strategy paid off.  The Raiders went into the 2-minute warning with 4th and 14 at their own 16 yard line, and punted the ball back to Houston with less than 2 minutes to go.  Lechler’s 45 yard punt hung long enough for the Raider coverage unit to get down the field and tackle returner Jacoby Jones for a loss, and the Texans started their drive from their own 37 yard line, needing to go 63 yards in 1:50 with no time outs remaining.  After Schaub hit an 11-yard completion to open the drive, a strange episode took place in which the Raiders were flagged for too many men on the field, only to have the call reversed by a booth replay.  A personal foul on Texans guard Mike Brisiel gave the Texans 1st and 25, but Schaub’s 26-yard completion to Kevin Walter took care of that.  On the next play, Richard Seymour was flagged for rushing the passer, giving the Texans another first down inside Raider territory.  Two plays and one awkward fumble later, Matt Schaub hit Joel Dreessen for a 34 yard completion, setting the Texans up at the Raider 5 yard line with just seconds remaining on the clock.  Schaub spiked the ball, leaving time for one last play.

We all remember the last play. Through some kind of confusion, the Raiders sent only ten men onto the field to defend Schaub’s last attempt to get the ball into the end zone.  Schaub escaped a collapsing pocket and rolled to his left, where it appeared he had room to run it in.  Tyvon Branch, in zone coverage in the end zone, charged at Schaub full speed, forcing him to flatten out parallel to the line of scrimmage and head toward the sideline.  With Branch and the sideline both closing fast, Schaub threw toward the only receiver he could realistically get the ball to: Jacoby Jones, who was covered by 2006 7th overall pick Michael Huff.  Huff picked the ball off in the end zone, ending the game and sealing a Raider victory 25-20.  Cameras captured Jackson on the sideline, down on his knees, apparently weeping.  The Raiders players celebrated like they had just won a Super Bowl.  Raider fans nationwide sat transfixed in front of their televisions, some in tears, some with goosebumps, some cheering in pure joy – most of us did a combination of all three.

I still get choked up seeing it.  I’m not afraid to say that the Raiders-Texans game in 2011 may be the most memorable Raider game I ever saw, even moreso than the many playoff victories that occurred during my lifetime.  The game was in many ways also a vindication for Al Davis.  His 1st round kicker hit four field goals, three of them from more than 50 yards out.  His punter put the Texans in a hole on multiple occasions.  His big-money defensive front held the Texans to 2.8 yards per carry and recorded three sacks.  His speedy track star wide receiver had caught 7 passes for 99 yards and a key touchdown.  His young, brash, rookie head coach had shown guts and determination and had put his team in position to win it.  It was Al Davis’ last victory.

Aftermath

Of course most of us also remember the rest of the 2011 season.  A week later in a win against the Cleveland Browns, Jason Campbell broke his collarbone and was out for the year, prompting the now acting-GM, Hue Jackson, to trade a 1st and a 2nd round draft pick for Cincinnati quarterback Carson Palmer.  Palmer played the second half of a disastrous 28-0 loss to the Chiefs in which he and Kyle Boller combined for six INT’s.  Darren McFadden got a foot injury in the first quarter of that game and was done for the year, finishing with over 760 yards from scrimmage and 5 TD’s.  While Palmer helped the Raiders remain respectable, the injuries and lack of depth were too much for the Raiders to overcome, and they dropped a week 17 home game against San Diego to go 8-8 and miss out on the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season.  We also remember what happened next.  Mark Davis – on the advice of Jackson – hired general manager Reggie McKenzie from the Packers front office.  McKenzie promptly fired Jackson and hired Broncos Defensive Coordinator Dennis Allen as his head coach.  McKenzie then spent the 2012 and 2013 seasons undoing the damage that Al Davis – and Hue Jackson – had done to the organization, having to clear millions in dead money against the cap, unload multiple bad contracts, and basically wait around until the Raiders would have an opportunity to have a real draft.  This year is really the first year in the McKenzie era in which he has had a full draft and a full salary cap to work with, and what he does with them from here out remains to be seen.

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The Texans went on to have a successful 2011, finishing 10-6, reaching the first ever playoff game in franchise history and recording the first ever playoff win.  Matt Schaub was hurt for the year late in a Week 10 victory over Tampa Bay, and backup TJ Yates led the team to a 3-3 record over their last six games before leading them to their first franchise playoff victory over Cincinnati in the Wild Card round. They were eliminated in the divisional round by the Baltimore Ravens.  In his ten games in 2011, Schaub recorded nearly 2500 yards passing and 15 TD’s, on pace for another 4,000 yard, 20 TD season. The following year, they improved their record to 12-4, and again won a playoff game before being eliminated in the divisional round.  Schaub again recorded over 4,000 yards passing and over 20 TD’s.  The Texans collapsed in 2013, going 2-14,with Schaub having the worst season of his career as a starter before being benched, and Gary Kubiak suffering a stroke on the field only to be fired a few weeks later.  Schaub was traded to the Raiders in the offseason for a 6th round pick, and lost his starting job in preseason to rookie Derek Carr.  The Raiders beat the Texans in 2013, in Matt McGloin’s best game of his short career.  The Raiders face the Texans again on Sunday for the ninth time, looking to extend their winning streak to three against Houston.  Only eleven players who were on the Raiders roster on October 9th, 2011 are still on the team, and roughly the same is true for the Texans.  Both teams are dramatically different from the two teams who faced off at Reliant Stadium that day, and no one is quite sure in which direction either team is headed.

[Author’s note: This being 9/11, I want to send a special thank you to all the first responders and members of the US military out there.  I was in the Marine Corps when the 9/11 attacks occurred, and that day changed the course of my entire life, I will never forget them and I will never forget the bravery of my fellow Americans on that day and the days that followed.  Semper Fidelis.]

[Author’s note: Oh, and Al Davis was 100% right about Lane Kiffin, we know that now.  Kiffin is a snake.  Al knew what he was doing.]