Raiders emerge victorious after furious comeback, but much work remains
New York Post · RC · trust 34/100
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Add The California Post on Google HOUSTON — The Raiders came to Houston looking for clarity.
They got it, especially about their best players.
Between a difficult joint practice against the Texans on Tuesday and Thursday night’s 22-20 preseason victory, in which they trailed 20-3 before mounting a furious second-half comeback featuring the bottom-of-the-roster players for both teams, the Raiders received a candid assessment of where they stand against one of the NFL’s elite teams.
It was pretty much what anyone paying attention expected.
From the top of the roster to the bottom, the Texans are deeper, more talented and further along than the Raiders.
And now, it isn’t particularly close even though the Raiders left the field in a better mood than they started the exhibition game.
That’s a sobering reminder of how much ground the Raiders still have to cover before they can stand shoulder to shoulder with the NFL’s best.
The difference this time is they seem to know it.
Unlike seasons past, when the Raiders occasionally operated under grand illusions about how close they were to contention, this version of the franchise appears to understand exactly where it is. Under coach Klint Kubiak, the Raiders have embraced the long road back rather than searching for shortcuts.
That requires patience. Smart drafting. Development. And probably a few uncomfortable afternoons and evenings like the ones they experienced in Houston.
Those moments are inevitable when rebuilding something correctly.
The important thing is learning from them.
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After suggesting he might play his starters following their poor showing in Tuesday’s joint practice, Kubiak ultimately reversed course and sat them Thursday.
“That was the plan all along,” said Kubiak. “When we have those joint practices they get so many reps, that joint practice is the game. That’s how we decided to play.”
In the grand scheme of a preseason, that decision might not matter.
In real time, though, it felt like a missed opportunity.
Especially when the Texans — a team coming off three consecutive playoff appearances — opened the game with C.J. Stroud and much of their starting offense on the field.
If Houston believes there is value in those reps, the Raiders certainly shouldn’t consider themselves above them.
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They simply aren’t at a stage where opportunities to build cohesion and chemistry should be casually passed up.
Their offensive line remains a work in progress. Their defensive front was pushed around far too often Tuesday. And there are new systems being installed on both sides of the ball under a new coaching staff.
Those are exactly the circumstances in which another 10 or 15 meaningful snaps together could have been useful.
The Raiders aren’t expected to play their starters in next week’s preseason finale against the 49ers, meaning Thursday may have represented their final opportunity to work together in a game setting before the regular season.
That made sitting them feel like a chance left on the table.
Yes, the Raiders’ starting defense never took the field Thursday.
But after watching the first unit struggle against the run in last week’s preseason opener against Arizona and again during Tuesday’s joint practice, what happened Thursday felt like an extension of a troubling theme.
Houston running back Woody Marks needed just four carries to gain 37 yards, a whopping 9.3 yards per attempt, including a 20-yard run.
The numbers eventually leveled off as Houston worked deeper into its roster.
By then, though, the point had been made.
The Raiders look vulnerable at the point of attack.
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Part of the concern is depth. Part of it is the absence of a proven difference-maker in the middle of the defensive line who can consistently anchor against the run and force offenses to account for him.
That’s not an insignificant issue in a division where stopping the run will matter.
It would hardly be surprising if the Raiders scour the waiver wire and trade market for defensive-line help as teams begin trimming their rosters.
The pass defense didn’t provide much relief Thursday, either.
Davis Mills completed 11 of 15 passes for 93 yards as the Raiders struggled to generate pressure up front and their young defensive backs endured the predictable growing pains behind it.
Jermod McCoy, Hezekiah Masses and Treydan Stukes all have talent. They also remain young players learning on the fly.
Thursday was another reminder that potential and readiness aren’t the same thing.
The Raiders already know they have a potential difference-maker in Ashton Jeanty, whom they selected sixth overall in last year’s draft.
They may have created a pretty nice problem for themselves with Mike Washington Jr.
One week after rushing for 63 yards on six carries, Washington followed with 56 yards on nine attempts Thursday, highlighted by a 33-yard burst in the first quarter.
That’s 119 yards on 15 preseason carries.
Or 7.9 yards every time they hand him the football.
At 6-foot-2 and 228 pounds, Washington Jr. brings an intriguing combination of size, power and enough burst to turn a crease into something much bigger.
And he’s beginning to look like more than simply Jeanty’s backup.
“I see a vvery talented young man with a bright future ahead of him that is extremely humble and hardworking,” Kubiak said. “So if he just keeps that mindset, it’ll keep you better. He has plenty that he needs to improve on, and he knows that.”
When a team…
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