Houston Texans 30 Oakland Raiders 14: Slow start, turnovers cause panic in Oakland

September 14, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders head coach Dennis Allen reacts against the Houston Texans during the second quarter at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Heading into the 2014 National Football League season on the back of a long losing streak to end 2013 as well as one of the toughest schedules in the league, head coach Dennis Allen knew there was a demand for a quick start to the season from owner Mark Davis. After a loss to the New York Jets the Raiders home opener on Sunday against the Houston Texans was labelled a “must win” in front of a sellout crowd at the Coliseum. Fans hoping to see a new look team feed off a home crowd buzz were left sorely disappointed however as a 17-0 halftime deficit put the Raiders out of the game early in an eventual 30-14 defeat.

Oakland would shoot themselves in the foot twice in the first half on offense after the defense came out slowly to allow a 14-0 Texans lead, making matters worse with a Derek Carr interception inside Houston territory and an embarrassing sequence in which James Jones fumbled the ball twice in one play to negate a big passing play from Carr. Both plays took points off the board and served as turning points in a game that Oakland were out of from the opening Texans drive.

Nick Roach’s absence at middle linebacker was a huge factor as without their playcaller on defense and every down presence in the middle the Texans ran all over Oakland thanks to Arian Foster who put up 138 yards on the ground including a long 42 yard gain that put Houston on the half yard line. Miles Burris put up just two tackles and looked largely lost once again as the concussion problems for Roach have exposed the lack of depth at middle linebacker in Oakland as well as Burris’ ineffective play as a starter. It will be interesting to see how much playing time Burris gets once Roach returns as the former Aztec looked out of place on Sunday on more than several occasions.

After the sluggish start the Raiders defense would improve for the most part, but by then it was too little too late as the 14-0 hole and subsequent turnovers on offense pushed Oakland out of the game from early on in the first half. Something that drew the ire of Raiders fans early and often as there were plenty of boos from the hometown fans at the Coliseum who were left unpleased by the effort in the home opener.

Darren McFadden would serve as a positive in his first home performance since coming back to Oakland after his contract expired on a “prove it” deal with an opportunity to showcase his talents in Maurice Jones-Drew’s absence. McFadden did just that, picking up some long gains in both the passing and rushing game and would have cracked 100+ all purpose yards if not for a holding call that called back a 21 yard gain. Much maligned, McFadden showed why rookie Latavius Murray hasn’t seen much of the field by making big plays along with protecting Carr well as a pass blocker when called upon. Something that the offensive line also did well as some of the few positives in the effort.

With the loss the Raiders now have eight straight defeats to their name since their 2013 win over the Texans with Matt McGloin at quarterback, something that has head coach Dennis Allen on the hot seat and plenty of fans questioning the direction this team is headed in. Facing the Patriots and Dolphins before the bye week, the pressure is on the Raiders head coach to find a way to win soon. With owner Mark Davis looking to build a new stadium and rebuild a franchise there needs to be visible progress in terms of wins/losses from this team that isn’t happening with Allen. A growing impatience from the fanbase along with a lengthy losing streak should heat things up in Oakland where nothing seems to be going right after two weeks of frustrating losses that has cooled any positive feelings over the Raiders rebuilding process. “No more excuses” was Mark Davis’ mantra this offseason. Only time well tell what that truly means if the losses continue in Oakland.