{"id":414505,"date":"2026-08-23T08:38:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T08:38:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/414505\/"},"modified":"2026-08-23T08:38:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T08:38:30","slug":"the-houston-texans-22-20-preseason-loss-to-the-las-vegas-raiders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/414505\/","title":{"rendered":"The Houston Texans\u2019 22-20 preseason loss to the Las Vegas Raiders"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Day After the Day After…when the raw, immediate emotions from the aftermath of a game diminish into the realm of clarity and the proverbial (or literal) hangover no longer haunts the mind. With that, some thoughts about Week 2 of the preseason:<\/p>\n

Another Reminder About Perspective: What transpires in preseason games, in most cases, has little to no bearing on what will transpire in the regular season. That is the accepted truism about the preseason. For the Texans, they hope that is the case. Blowing a 17-0 lead and seeing the Raiders go on a 19-0 run in the second half is not fun, even in the preseason. Much of that comeback came against 3rd\/4th\/5th stringers, but many of those players will be the back-end depth that all rosters require. One could argue that this result should make cut down day real easy, especially for the defenders that couldn\u2019t get the Raiders off the field. However, how many big preseason \u201cwins\u201d did the Texans of the pre-Ryans days have only to see the regular season devolve into pain and misery? No fan ever enjoys a loss, but at least this should not matter much.<\/p>\n

\"Houston<\/a><\/p>\n

Houston Texans running back Woody Marks (4) dives across the goal line past Las Vegas Raiders linebacker Tommy Eichenberg (44) on a 20-yard touchdown run during the first half of an NFL preseason football game at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (Photo by Brett Coomer\/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The Right Side of the Texans Starting Oline: For this game, the Texans mixed up their starting 5 for the Oline. Rutledge started, but this time at LG with Neal Brown at center. Yet, it was Trent Brown at RT and Ed Ingram at RG that drove much of Houston\u2019s success on the opening drive. Woody Marks gained all 37 of his rushing yards going behind those two. One drive does not an offense make but expect many a running play to go to the right when the season gets started.<\/p>\n

2nd Half Short-Yardage Plays: This has been a rather unfortunate trend of the squad when short-yardage plays that are the NFL equivalent of \u201cgimmie-puts\u201d are far from that. Even on the opening drive, on a 2nd and 1, Houston attempted a Woody Marks run over the left side which went nowhere. At least Houston made up for it on the next play. Later, Houston faced two 3rd and 1s in the second quarter, converting both. Yet, the second half saw Houston face four plays where they needed 1 to 2 yards to get a first down. They failed all four times:<\/p>\n

Again, perspective on players on the field, but that goes a long way to explaining why a) most of those players were playing the second half of a preseason game and b) Houston is 0-2 in the preseason.<\/p>\n

\"HOUSTON,<\/a><\/p>\n

HOUSTON, TEXAS – AUGUST 20: Brett Rypien #16 of the Houston Texans rolls out to pass in the second half against the Las Vegas Raiders during a preseason game at Reliant Stadium on August 20, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner\/Getty Images) Getty Images<\/p>\n

Brett Rypien and So Little Time: The life of a fringe NFL player is far from easy. Always waiting by the phone, getting little to no notice about where the next paycheck is coming from, and having very little time to get up to speed, especially if you get pressed into immediate playing time. So it was with Rypien. Sure, he\u2019s been around in the NFL (11th team in 7 years) and he is familiar with Caley\u2019s offense. However, having less than a week to get up to speed with an offense before getting thrown into significant game time is not exactly a formula for success. The second half of the game bore that out. Only 2 first downs in the entirety of the half for Houston, along with multiple communication issues. It is not all on Rypien, but for those fringe players that are fighting for their NFL lives, that did not help. No one budgets for injuries, and Houston had greater needs than QB3, but perhaps having that 4th arm before the preseason games began, so at least someone had more than a couple of practices under their belt, might have helped.<\/p>\n

Ex-Texans Playing on the Raiders: More than a few familiar faces were in Raiders\u2019 Silver and Black. RB\/Special Teams legend Dare Ogunbowale chipped in with 35 yards rushing and a TD; DL Thomas Booker logged a sack and 2 TFLs; DT Folorunso Fatukasi got into the act with 3 tackles (1 solo). WR Noah Brown even got into the action with an 11-yard reception for a 1st down. Whether they all make the final Raiders\u2019 roster is up for debate, but they at least got some semblance of revenge on Houston.<\/p>\n

\"HOUSTON,<\/a><\/p>\n

HOUSTON, TX – AUGUST 20: Quarterback Fernando Mendoza #15 of the Las Vegas Raiders throws the ball as he is pressured by defensive end Jadeveon Clowney #90 of the Houston Texans during the NFL preseason game between the Houston Texans and the Las Vegas Raiders on August 20, 2026, at Reliant Stadium in Houston, TX. (Photo by David Buono\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n

17: Largest Blown Lead in a Preseason Loss: How very Houston to blow a multi-score lead, even in the preseason. Thursday night reflected the Texans\u2019 largest blown lead in preseason history. The previous record was 14 points, which the Texans \u201caccomplished\u201d twice: Against Tampa Bay in 2007 (Led 14-0, lost 31-24) and against New Orleans in 2012 (Led 14-0, lost 34-27).<\/p>\n

2019: The Last Time the Texans Finished the Preseason with a Losing Record: Thursday\u2019s loss also clinched a losing preseason for Houston. The 2019 squad went 1-3 in the preseason (Did manage to go 10-6 to win the AFC South). Since the resumption of the preseason in 2021 (no preseason in 2020), Houston clinched winning preseason records, going 12-4. Make it 12-6 now.<\/p>\n

\"HOUSTON,<\/a><\/p>\n

HOUSTON, TEXAS – AUGUST 20: Wade Woodaz #30 of the Houston Texans returns an interception for a touchdown as Fernando Mendoza #15 of the Las Vegas Raiders attempts to make the tackle in the first half during a preseason game at Reliant Stadium on August 20, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner\/Getty Images) Getty Images<\/p>\n

LB Wade Woodaz: There\u2019s significant competition for that LB3 spot behind Al-Shaair and To\u2019oTo\u2019o. Woodaz used this national showcase to present his argument for that slot. His 80-yard Pick Six was about as emphatic a statement as a 4th round rookie could make, especially as he was among the starters for the defense on their opening drive. It wasn\u2019t all perfect, as he only had 2 total tackles and took a bad angle that gave Raiders\u2019 RB Dylan Laube a wide-open TD run in the 3rd quarter. After the game, it transpired that Woodaz injured his thumb but not expected to miss that much time. Still, for making the biggest play of Houston\u2019s preseason to date, he gets a TDATDA game ball.<\/p>\n

TE Marlin Klein: Leading Texans receiver for the second straight game. Preseason stars should be taken with healthy caveats, but if he can emerge as a solid TE, potentially being the other part of the 12 formations that Caley holds dear and playing as well as he has these past two games, that can only be a good thing for the Texans.<\/p>\n

P Kai Kroeger: Given that the Texans cut Jake Stonehouse before the start of the preseason games, Kroeger had no extra pressure to play well. This game, Kroeger was on point. 4 of his 6 punts landed inside the two, including a Lob Wedge beauty that pinned the Raiders inside their 4-yard. He averaged over 48 yards a punt, and the Raiders only managed 5.0 yards\/return on three tries. Do that in the regular season, and Houston will have few worries about the punting game.<\/p>\n

\"LAS<\/a><\/p>\n

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 23: Owner and managing general partner Mark Davis of the Las Vegas Raiders looks on before a game against the Cleveland Browns at Allegiant Stadium on November 23, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger\/Getty Images) Getty Images<\/p>\n

SHOULD BE FORCED TO GET MATCHING HAIR STYLES WITH LAS VEGAS RAIDERS\u2019 OWNER MARK DAVIS<\/p>\n

PK Ka\u2019imi Fairbairn (Kickoffs): The placekicking was good (2-2 on 50+ yard FGs, 2-2 on XPs). Kickoffs need some work. In the first half, Fairbairn needlessly kicked into the end-zone for touchback, giving the Raiders the ball at the 35. Then, on a subsequent kickoff he shanked it short of the landing zone, giving the Raiders the ball at the 40. The first half Raiders didn\u2019t take too much advantage of those plays, but Fairbairn will need to get back into kickoff rhythm by the time the games start counting for real.<\/p>\n

Raiders Special Teams: 2 missed PATs, 4 penalties on punts. Their special teams unit is not going to have a fun day in the film session.<\/p>\n

With that, the home slate for Houston\u2019s preseason comes to an end. They close out the last preseason game next Friday, August 28, at the Carolina Panthers. Kickoff slated for 6 p.m. CDT on your ABC affiliate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Day After the Day After…when the raw, immediate emotions from the aftermath of a game diminish into…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":414506,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[56,58,57,23714,82284],"class_list":["post-414505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news","tag-houston-texans-analysis","tag-houston-texans-preseason"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=414505"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414505\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/414506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=414505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=414505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=414505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}