Las Vegas Raiders vs Houston Texans 2022 Week 7: Studs and Duds

Las Vegas Raiders vs Houston Texans 2022 Week 7: Studs and Duds

Duds – Defensive backfield and pass rush

It’s hard to find negatives after a game in which the Raiders won by 18 points but if there is one major area of improvement it has to be the defensive backfield. Before the big play made by Duron Harmon, there were a lot of blown coverages and plays made by no-name receivers and a mediocre quarterback.

The Texans rolled out a group of receivers that most fans have never heard of except Brandin Cooks and they still managed to have an effective day against the Raiders’ defense. Some of that success had to do with a lack of a pass rush against an offensive line that is middle of the pack in terms of sack percentage and is near the bottom of the league in pass attempts.

Davis Mills was comfortable for most of the game and was able to find targets with relative ease and had a nice day against the Raiders, going 28-41 for 302 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. 50 or so of those yards came on the meaningless last drive but that is still a solid day for a player that has not had more than 250 yards in a game this year before Week 7.

If this is how the Raiders are defending guys like Nico Collins and David Akins, we can only imagine what a potential Saints lineup of Michael Thomas, Jarvis Landry, and Chris Olave could do to this unit. Defense in general has been a concern for the Raiders but the pass coverage has been particularly bad with the Raiders in the bottom 12 of the league in pass yards allowed and 26th worst in passing touchdowns allowed.

Next week they face the 8th-ranked Saints passing offense and a quarterback that makes mistakes but can still make big plays in Andy Dalton. The veteran QB has 7 touchdowns and 4 picks in his last 4 games which shows he can do damage to both his team and the opponents but the Raiders will be hoping he’s only throwing touchdowns to the guys in silver helmets.