The Houston Texans had this one in hand for most of the night, then watched it slip away in the fourth quarter.
Houston fell 22-20 to the Las Vegas Raiders after building a 20-3 cushion and controlling the game for much of the first half. The Texans scored 17 of their 20 points in the first quarter and got all 20 before halftime, setting the tone early before the finish turned ugly.
Las Vegas got almost nothing going at the start, and rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza had a rough outing. The No. 1 overall pick, who authored the Indiana Hoosiers' first national title victory in football, actually threw more touchdowns for Houston than for his own team. Mendoza finished 8-for-15 for 86 yards with an interception.
Houston’s quarterbacks were efficient across the board, all of them finishing above 60% completion. C.J. Stroud’s first appearance was quiet, though, as he went 4-for-6 passing.
The Texans still led 20-3 late in the third quarter before the game flipped. Las Vegas trimmed the margin when Dare Ogunbowale crossed the plane with 7:36 left, making it 20-16 after the Raiders failed on the two-point try.
That set up Aidan O’Connell to finish the comeback. The backup quarterback guided another scoring drive and then punched the football into the endzone from a yard away with 14 seconds left to put Las Vegas ahead for good. O’Connell ended the night 15-for-24 for 166 passing yards.
Outside of O’Connell, the offense never really found much rhythm. The Texans’ defense held up well for stretches, especially early, but it couldn’t close the door once the Raiders started chipping away.
The game also offered a closer look at former No. 3 receiver Jalen Nailor in a Vikings uniform. Nailer caught one pass for 22 yards before his day was over.
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