Texans survive with 23-21 win over Raiders

The Texans were expected to beat the Raiders easily. Houston did win, but it wasn't easy.

In a surprisingly competitive game, the Raiders took a second-half lead and the Texans needed to come back and then hold on in the fourth quarter to survive with a 23-21 win.

Texans quarterback CJ Stroud completed 23 of 35 passes for 187 yards, with a touchdown and no interceptions. Raiders quarterback Geno Smith completed 16 of 23 passes for 201 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception.

The star of the game for the Raiders was rookie running back Ashton Jeanty, who had 24 carries for 128 yards and a touchdown, and added a 60-yard receiving touchdown. In an up-and-down rookie season, Jeanty showed everything the Raiders wanted to see from him today.

But it wasn't enough, and the Texans won to improve to 10-5 and stay in contention for both the AFC South and a wild card berth. The loss drops the Raiders to 2-13 and keeps them in contention for the first overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft.