Preview and Prediction: Oakland Raiders vs. Houston Texans
By Austin Gayle
Coming off their bye week, the Oakland Raiders (7-2) will play in their second consecutive primetime game against the Houston Texans (6-3) in Mexico City, Mexico on Monday Night Football.
With both the Oakland Raiders and Houston Texans looking to maintain their leads in their respective divisions, this AFC clash holds high stakes.
Only one team will return to the U.S. with smiles and sombreros.
Here’s an in-depth look at which team will ultimately down the piñata in this Week 11 matchup.
Raiders’ Offensive Line to Spark Murray and Company
In Oakland’s last primetime showdown, the Raiders’ offensive line bullied the Denver Broncos defense for four quarters, sparking an offense that possessed the football for 41:28 and garnered 218 rushing yards.
A similar spark will flash against the Texans.
Led by veteran left tackle Donald Penn, the Raiders’ offensive line has dominated opposing teams in the trenches every single week. Though their names don’t always make it to the headlines, their play has spoken for itself.
Without All-Pro defensive end J.J. Watt in the lineup, the Texans’ lack next level talent within their interior defensive line, a weakness that will be exploited against Oakland.
Former New England Patriot Vince Wilfork is still just as big as he was in Foxborough, but he has failed to carry over his success into Houston. With just 16 tackles in eight games this season, Wilfork is on pace for his lowest tackle total since missing 12 games in 2013. His second lowest season total (22) came in his first year with the Texans in 2015.
Outside of the aging nose tackle, second-year defensive end Christian Covington and rookie counterpart D.J. Reader have mirrored Wilfork’s lack of success. The two inexperienced defensive linemen have just 25 combined tackles this season, and both of them grade among the worst interior defenders, per ProFootballFocus.com.
Regardless of the talent that lines up in front of them, Penn and company will take no prisoners. After Monday’s contest, some of Houston’s interior defensive linemen will wish they wound up in cuffs instead of body bags.