The Las Vegas Raiders suffered two shutout losses already this season.
Are the Houston Texans going to make that thrice, this Sunday?
That’s certainly within the realm of possibility as the Week 16 matchup in NRG Stadium features the NFL’s best defense versus the league’s worst scoring offense.
Producing just 196 points in 14 games this year, the Raiders are dead last, offensively. That sum is 29 less than the Tennessee Titans who are ranked 31st with a 225 total. Right above that squad are the Cleveland Browns and New Orleans Saints at 226. Thus, it’s no surprise each of the aforementioned teams are in the dumps like the 2-12 Raiders: Titans 2-12, Browns 3-11, Saints 4-10 overall.
Flip the coin and the host Texans yield a league-low 228 total points. That sum is 33 less than the Denver Broncos who are ranked second in points allowed at 261. Right below them are the Kansas City Chiefs (268) and Philadelphia Eagles (271). Of those teams, the overall marks read: Texans 9-5, Broncos 12-2, Chiefs 6-8, Eagles 9-5. The last team on that list above — Philadelphia — is the squad that handed Las Vegas its second shutout defeat (31-0 last Sunday).
So it’s only natural to contemplate if the Raiders can get on the scoreboard against the NFL’s top defense.
It’s imperative Las Vegas start fast in Houston on Sunday.
Geno Smith is slated to be back at starting quarterback. The veteran missed the Week 15 loss due to injury but Raiders head coach Pete Carroll noted the signal caller is all systems go to return as QB1 this week.
The Raiders getting any semblance of a threatening ground game is going to be vital, even though the Texans have the third-stingiest run defense allowing just 1,298 total yards. If Las Vegas isn’t able to get any traction with a rushing attack featuring rookie running back Ashton Jeanty, a one-dimensional Raiders offense will put Smith right in the crosshairs of the Texans’ dynamic pass rush duo of Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson.
Hunter, the veteran at 31 years old, leads Houston with 12 sacks while Anderson, the younger player at 24 years old, follows right behind with 10.5.
That 1-2 punch is likely salivating over a matchup with a Las Vegas offense that surrenders a league-leading 54 sacks — Smith absorbing 49 of those hits (leads the league) while Kenny Pickett has taken five.
The reason for a sense of urgency to get offensive success early is the fact the Texans defense gets stronger as games go on.
The fourth-quarter touchdown Houston allowed to the Arizona Cardinals last weekend — an 11-yard touchdown pass from Jacoby Brissett to Michael Wilson — was the first final stanza end zone visit the Texans surrendered since a fourth-quarter touchdown pass against the Tennessee Titans back on Nov. 9, 2025. In total, of the 27 touchdowns Houston allowed so far, five have been fourth-quarter types.
To compare, Las Vegas’ offense has a total of eight forth-quarter touchdowns in its total of 21. Of the 43 touchdowns given up by the Raiders defense, eight are of the fourth-quarter variety.
We’ll see if interim offensive coordinator Greg Olson can dial up some quick developing plays to get the ball out of Smith’s hands quickly.
And we’ll see if Smith and the rest of the offense can execute.
The quarterback is likely weary of the amount of hits he’s taken this season as he’s been dropped 30 times since the onset of November to the Week 14 loss to the Broncos two weeks ago.
Quote of Note
“Yeah, I mean, where we’re at in the season right now, I think for playing the number of games that we’ve played, you better be up to NFL speed, and certainly they’re taking it to another level, and that’s a credit to their coaching staff and credit to their players, how fast that they play. They got a real good knowledge of their system, so they’re able to play fast, and that certainly helps. But they’re very talented, and we’ve got it here, for us offensively, certainly having someone like Maxx Crosby rushing from the other end gives us a good look as far as defensive ends, but you can’t scrimmage every day, so you got to fall back on your preparation from throughout the season and know what it’s like on game day to get up to that speed.”
—Las Vegas Raiders interim offensive coordinator Greg Olson when asked about the physicality of the Houston Texans defense and how to prepare or counter it.
Sunday’s tilt in Houston marks the 14th time the Raiders and Texans clash all-time. Houston leads the series 8-5 (7-5 in regular season play, 1-0 in the playoffs) but the most recent win in the series belongs to Las Vegas — a 38-20 victory back on Oct. 23, 2022. That was a contest that saw the Raiders score 21 fourth-quarter points for the win. The Texans, however, won the previous two matchups. One a 27-14 AFC Wild Card playoff game on Jan. 7, 2017.
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