Why the Raiders face a must-win against Houston in Week 2

To call the Raiders’s season opener against the Houston Texans on Sunday a must-win game could be an understatement.  It’s a “have to win or else” game.

Despite what some call a successful debut of sorts for rookie quarterback Derek Carr (20-32, 151 yds, 2 TDs), he’ll need to show that he can drive the Raiders offense downfield more consistently than he did against the Jets. They only racked up a total of 176 yards in the game, 73 of which coming on their final drive, ending in a 30-yard touchdown pass to James Jones.

Defensively, Oakland has to get aggressive and has to get pressure on Ryan Fitzpatrick who’s not as fleet of foot compared to Geno Smith.

The Raiders got no pressure whatsoever on Smith last Sunday, allowing the sophomore quarterback to torch the Raiders secondary for 221 yards and the rushing game to run over what’s supposed to be a very talented front seven for 212 yards.

While this team is a lot more talented and experienced than those in recent past, they still don’t have enough parts or experience to become that dominant team from over a decade ago.  Making Sunday’s game against Houston that much more crucial.

If Oakland cannot beat this Texans team, then how they can beat anyone else on their schedule this year is a mystery.

The Texans defense looked good against the Redskins in their opener last week, holding Robert Griffin III and company to just six points, but with a price.  Houston will be without first overall pick Jadeveon Clowney, who’s out for the first quarter of the season with a torn meniscus.

But don’t let the score fool you, they also allowed the Redskins to gain over 300 yards of offense.

Even though Clowney is out, the Raiders still have to deal with defensive end J.J. Watt, who could have a solid day against a questionable Raiders offensive line.  In last year’s matchup (Nov. 17), Watt had his way with the Raiders offensive line, getting two sacks, two tackles for loss and five hits on the quarterback.

But that was a different line compared to the one taking the field on Sunday… sort of.

The Raiders line was ineffective in the running game, only allowing Maurice-Jones Drew to run for a mere 11 yards on nine carries.

“I felt like, and still feel like, the line of scrimmage can be a plus for us,” head coach Dennis Allen mentioned.  “It obviously wasn’t in that game and we’ve got to be better in that area.”

The Raiders defense will face a tougher test on Sunday having to go against a healthy Arian Foster and Andre Johnson, along with Fitzpatrick who threw all over the then-Raiders secondary for 320 yards, leading Tennessee to a 23-19 win.

While the chips seem to be against the Raiders on Sunday, Oakland still has an upper hand.

Even though the Texans won last week, they played a struggling quarterback in RG III and a Redskins offense still trying to figure its way.  Derek Carr, despite the stats last week, is a better quarterback right now than Griffin and won’t force the ball or force the play.

The Texans front seven isn’t as dominant as the Jets front seven was last week, meaning Darren McFadden should have a better game on the ground and Derek Carr should at least be able to throw for 200 yards against the Texans secondary, as long as he can get the time.

Jones-Drew is listed as out for Sunday’s game after undergoing hand surgery.

The Raiders also only had four penalties (that is not a typo) on the day and did not commit any turnovers, something they can and should continue to build upon on Sunday.

Despite the Raiders getting the toughest schedule in the league, this Sunday should be a win for the Raiders, putting them at 1-1 going into New England for Week 3.

But let’s focus on the task at hand first, and that’s Oakland winning on Sunday.