Oakland Raiders: Game breakdown and prediction for Week 8 against Houston Texans

Can the Oakland Raiders avoid dropping to 3-4 on the season in a tough matchup against a leading MVP candidate in Deshaun Watson? Let’s break it down.

The Oakland Raiders try to bounce back after a rough loss at Lambeau Field as they now travel to NRG Stadium to take on the 4-3 Houston Texans.

It’s the last game of a long away-from-home stretch against a quarterback who’s playing at an MVP level. So, can the Raiders pull through?

What it really boils down to in this game is the fact that when Deshaun Watson remains upright and doesn’t take sacks, the Texans win games.

See the previous two games for Houston before last week in Indianapolis. Watson went down zero times in both of those games against Kansas City and Atlanta.

Last week in Indianapolis, he got sacked three times and the Texans lost the game. It seems pretty clear-cut that, especially now since Watson will be down Will Fuller for this game, that if the Raiders can get to him, they can pull off the upset.

But the problem with that is the Raiders’ pass rush is tied for the fourth-fewest sacks in the league with just 10 on the season. They have one of the weakest pass rushes in all of football and Houston’s offensive line has shown tremendous improvement since Laremy Tunsil came over at left tackle.

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I’m not so sure the Raiders will be able to rattle Watson as you need to in order to defeat him.

In terms of the Raiders offense is concerned, I think it’s another solid day for them. They, themselves, have a nice offensive line and Houston’s defense isn’t any great shakes like it used to be.

It’s pretty good against the run (tied for eighth in rushing yards allowed), but in terms of defending the pass, this should be a very nice matchup for Derek Carr and his pass catchers to move down the field and put the ball in the end zone.

Darren Waller is an unstoppable force and Houston’s cornerbacks are very weak (even now that they added Gareon Conley from your very Raiders).

But on the flip side, the Raiders can’t stop anybody either in the secondary and now their best cornerback is playing for the other team.

So, I don’t think the Raiders will be able to put the necessary pressure on Watson and, in turn, the former Clemson star will be able to put up his usual offensive numbers even without Will Fuller.

I have the Texans winning this game by the same score they lost by last week in Indianapolis, 30-23. The Raiders drop to 3-4.