Oakland Raiders: A Few Keys To Victory Over The Houston Texans
By Kevin Saito
![Oct 30, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; A detailed view of an Oakland Raiders helmet on the field prior to the game at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports Oct 30, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; A detailed view of an Oakland Raiders helmet on the field prior to the game at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/e11a1e338212514c731d9dcfb6e68e946bc8226f575d25cbd66645cfa61034ef.jpg)
Give Carr Time To Operate
Overall, Oakland’s offensive line has done a tremendous job this season of protecting Carr well enough that he has ample time to operate in the pocket. Their league-low eleven sacks on the year bear that out.
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But every once in a while, a crack will open up and Carr will take a hit or have less time than he ordinarily has. It’s led to a couple of bad decisions on his part – though, he has done a much better job of limiting those mistakes this season.
Still, the Texans can bring a little heat from time to time. They’re without J.J. Watt – thankfully – which takes away one of their most fearsome and intimidating weapons. But that doesn’t mean the Texans are toothless.
For the season, the Texans have collected 19 sacks. Though nobody has more than Whitney Mercilus‘ 4.5 sacks on the season, they have a variety of guys that can come from a variety of angles to harass the quarterback. It’s possible that losing Watt for the year was a blessing in disguise for the Texans as they’ve had to have different guys step up to fill that void.
Two weeks ago, Oakland’s offensive line did a fantastic job of more or less neutralizing one of the league’s most ferocious pass rushes in the Denver Broncos, Carr was still dropped twice and hit a number of other times.
The onus is going to be on this offensive line to not let up and to keep Carr clean for the game. Given that Houston has the league’s third ranked pass defense, Carr is going to need the time to pick his spots and avoid the costly turnovers.