Oakland Raiders at Houston Texans: 3 things to watch in Week 8

Which team is focused enough to bounce back

Both of these teams are coming off very disappointing losses, and this is an essential game if either side wants to catch their division leader.

The Texans can’t seem to figure out the Indianapolis Colts as they have now lost their last three games against their rival. They are arguably a more talented team than Colts, but it just seems like a bad matchup. Now they are about to head into a very tough stretch of their schedule, so they need this win.

The Raiders are the opposite as they’re heading into an easier section of their schedule after this week. Plus, with the Chiefs down due to Patrick Mahomes’ injury, they can creep up in this division. Getting a win this weekend not only does that but will also give them an edge in possible tiebreakers at the end of the season over both the Colts and Texans if necessary.

However, it was a poor performance against Packers last Sunday, and they need to bounce back, particularly on defense. The Raiders made their own mental mistakes, but they had no answers for the Packers offense despite them playing without a healthy receiver unit.

We’ll see which team can step up.