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The Texans seeimgly got robbed on national television last night. Houston knows it, Oakland knows it, and most importantly, many in the media knows it. The Texans dropped only a negligible 1.5 spots on average in each major power ranking this morning, which likely reflects the fact that for the first time in months the Houston offense looked competent against a good team. Whether they can sustain that success for the rest of the year is up for debate, but actually seeing them match the Raiders' high-powered aerial attack blow for blow was very encouraging.
Houston still has the inside track to another AFC South championship while the rest of the division crumbles around them, which I suppose is the only goal that matters when you're talking about getting to the postseason. It’s not how you start the season; it’s how you finish – for now, the Texans are slated to finish first. I’ll take that result every time.
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Website
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Rank
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Last Week
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Comments
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| SB Nation |
22
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20
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N/A. |
| ESPN |
16
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14
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Maybe Dr. Evil is a Raiders fan? Not ideal for laser pointers to be directed toward QB Brock Osweiler's gaze, but shenanigans aside, the Texans blew their first fourth-quarter lead of the season Monday night and lost their first one-possession game. Houston returns home to host the Chargers in Week 12.
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| NFL.com |
15
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13
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Mmmmm, mmmmm, mmmmm. Wow. Tough to swallow that deal Monday night. The sideline call in the first quarter appeared to cost the Texans a touchdown. Both spots on the penultimate possession in the fourth quarter were questionable, to say the least. And tough to disagree with Jon Gruden's assessment in postgame: Bill O'Brien probably should have gone for it on fourth-and-4 with only one timeout left and 3:13 remaining. As bitter as the defeat might be, the Titans also lost and the Colts could be without Andrew Luck this week. Houston is still in first.
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| Bleacher Report |
11
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12
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Can Bill O’Brien get one call? His Texans team outplayed the AFC’s new No. 1 seed Monday night. But the other team in white and black—the one with vertical stripes—cost his team two touchdowns that would’ve come in handy in a 27-20 loss.
O’Brien isn’t without blame. His decision to punt the football after the second upheld call, an Akeem Hunt first-down run that remained 4th-and-1, was questionable. It allowed Oakland to regain possession and close Houston out for good.
The positives? Jadeveon Clowney toyed with any Raiders blocker he faced. Lamar Miller played like a top-five back should. And most importantly, Brock Osweiler performed up to his contract for the first time as a Texan. If all three keep up, Houston might get another crack at Oakland this winter.
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| Fox Sports |
13
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10
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The Texans had a poor experience in Mexico City. They were robbed of a touchdown when DeAndre Hopkins was incorrectly ruled out of bounds, they were given three terrible spots in a row, and Brock Osweiler had a laser pointer aimed at his eye for part of the game. They outplayed the Raiders and probably should have won, but every team has to deal with things that are out of its control. Houston would have had a chance to win if Bill O’Brien had gone for it on fourth down late in the game, or if its defense had stopped Oakland. |
| USA Today |
13
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13
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Kinda looked like they were playing Raiders and refs in Monday's loss. But Brock Osweiler's improved play could be silverish lining moving ahead.
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| Yahoo Sports |
17
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16
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It’s amazing that officials seemed to get two spots wrong in the fourth quarter of Monday night’s game. To get one wrong is tough, but two straight? The fourth-down run was not even that close. It will always be crazy that officials basically guess on spots and then measure the first down to the fraction of an inch.
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| CBS Sports (Prisco) |
12
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9
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They still lead the AFC South, which is all that matters. The defense played well against the Raiders, except for a few busts.
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AVERAGE
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14.9
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13.4
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N/A
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Texans vs Raiders coverage