Kirk Cousins didn’t get much comfort Tuesday, but he did get a clear read on where the Raiders stand.
Against a Houston Texans front that has a real claim to being one of the NFL’s nastiest, the Raiders quarterback spent a long joint-practice session feeling heat from all angles. The day even included an interception returned for a touchdown, a reminder that Houston’s defense - which finished among the league’s best last season - can make any offense pay for a slow beat.
Cousins didn’t try to dress it up afterward. He called the workout the kind of test the Raiders needed.
“I do think that edge, like you said, we kind of knew that this would be a good test for us,” he told reporters afterward. “Nobody really can just drop back and take seven-step drops, play after play after play, against any rush in the NFL, let alone these guys. We asked a lot of them today, and it'll be really good film to go watch.”
For Cousins, the value wasn’t just in surviving the session. It was in what the Raiders can learn from it, both as a unit and individually.
“We can also talk about how can we help them, how can I help them, because it's a tall task,” Cousins said.
The challenge was obvious from the start. Houston led the NFL in total defense last season and finished with 47 sacks, with Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. combining for 27 of them.
Add in standout rookie defensive tackle Kayden McDonald, and the Texans brought the most demanding pass-rush look the Raiders’ offensive line has seen all preseason. Las Vegas had looked solid in its preseason opener, but Tuesday was a different level of stress.
Cousins put it in plain terms afterward.
“It was a good challenge,” Cousins said. “You feel their rush. They do a good job pursuing and playing fast.”
The practice also had a little personal history attached to it. Texans coach DeMeco Ryans was back around Raiders coaches Gary Kubiak and Klint Kubiak, turning the day into something of a reunion. The session got chippy at times, including a brief scuffle involving Raiders pass rusher Maxx Crosby, but both staffs came away praising the way the teams handled the physical edge.
The two clubs will see each other again Thursday in their second preseason game, with both sides now carrying a fresh dose of film - and a better sense of what Tuesday’s work exposed.
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