The hush that came over then NRG Stadium crowd Sunday afternoon was telling.
The initial volume decrease arrived when Geno Smith dropped a dime in Ashton Jeanty’s bread basket and the running back shook of a defender enroute to a 60-yard touchdown catch and run in the third quarter. The next muting happened when Jeanty burst through for a 51-yard touchdown run a quarter later.
And you could tell both the host Houston Texans and their faithful were sweating bullets against the lowly Las Vegas Raiders
after those two explosive plays. And that silence was indicative of a near-Raiders’ reprieve.
However, in the end, Smith’s first-quarter interception — that was housed by Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. for the pick six — was the difference as the Silver & Black fell short 23-21 to loss its ninth-consecutive game of the 2025 campaign.
“On that play, I just got to throw it away,” Smith said after the game. “They had a better call than us at that time. I think we kind of worn out the roll pass. Those guys, they played cover two on third-and-short. We’ve got to have an out to get to a run or something like that. We can’t run that play. He kind of kept running, and the corner made a good play. I’ve got to throw it away and live to play another down.”
The target on said turnover: Jeanty.
The Raiders rookie running back went off to the tune of 128 yards and a score on 24 carries (5.3 yards yards per carry average) including that 60-yard bomb of a reception for another score. It was a performance that featured Jeanty getting smothered, keeping his feet moving, and eventual breakaway plays — something that felt like they were on the verge the past few weeks.
The offensive outburst was a fry cry from the Raiders team that got blanked last week. Ultra productive tight end Brock Bowers got the end zone trips going in the second quarter with an excellent route and catch for a seven-yard score in the second quarter. Then came Jeanty’s touchdowns in the third and fourth stanzas.
Smith was given time to survey the landscape to find targets — although he held onto the ball too long at times taking three sacks — and the ragamuffin Raiders offense (ranked last in the league in points scored) took it to the NFL’s top-ranked Texans defense.
Defensively, Las Vegas played equally inspired and made life tough for Houston’s middling offense limiting the group to a trio of field goals. The Raiders did wilt in the fourth quarter allowing a touchdown to tight end Dalton Schultz on a 10-play, 88-yard drive and a game-sealing 24-yard pass from quarterback CJ Stroud to wideout Nico Collins on 3rd-and-8 after the two-minute warning.
Let’s hit the quick slants as fast as Jeanty made his way to the end zone on his two explosive plays:
—A week after only mustering 75 total yards, the Raiders offense dropped 315 on the top-ranked Texans’ defense. The air yards read 170 while 145 arrived on the ground for Las Vegas. Flip it to Houston: 270 yards on offense with 187 coming via pass and 83 via rush. It was a 180-degree type performance for the Silver & Black.
—Jeanty lead the Raiders air and ground attack. Fellow rookie (wide receiver) Jack Bech finished with two grabs for 43 yards (long of 37) while wideout Tre Tucker hauled in four passes for 43 yards. Bowers hauled in five passes for 33 yards and a score.
—Linebacker Devin White paced Las Vegas’ defense with 11 total tackles (seven solo). He is now the single-season record holder in franchise history surpassing Robert Spillane (now with the New England Patriots) who set the mark at 158 last season.
—While the Raiders didn’t record a sack, defensive end Maxx Crosby continues to be disruptive with two tackles for loss. He was joined by defensive tackles Jonah Laulu and Tonka Hemingway, linebacker Jamal Adams, and defensive end Malcolm Koonce in the stops for loss category.
Quote of Note
“I would love to. It’s going to be challenging. It’s a taxing challenge for us, but yeah. I really like this place and I like this team. I love working with (Las Vegas Raiders General Manager) ‘Johnny’ (John Spytek). It’s just mapping it out, putting it together and making sure that we bring people in that can really help us to challenge and compete with the guys we have just let that whole process take shape. It’s just unfortunate there’s not five, six, seven or eight wins in here that should have accompanied this season right now. It blows me away that this is the situation we’re in because I have no space in my brain for this. Maybe it had to be this hard. I don’t know, we’ll see.”
—Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll on seeing a Raider rebuild through
Up Next
The No. 1 Pick in the 2026 NFL Draft Bowl! It’s a pair of 2-13 teams duking it out inside Allegiant Stadium next Sunday when the Raiders host the Giants. New York fell 16-13 to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday and that defeat was the G-Men’s ninth-straight loss. So someone’s losing skid will be snapped in Sin City. The Giants’ loss featured a forgettable performance for rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart who finished 7-of-13 for 33 yards (2.5 yards per pass average) with no touchdowns, one interception, and absorbing five sacks. Yet, the Raiders have long been a struggling team’s get-right game. So we’ll see what happens.
