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NFL Playoff Bracket 2017: Updated Picture, Schedule After Saturday’s Wild Card
- Updated: January 8, 2017
The Houston Texans were a determined team in their wild-card meeting with the Oakland Raiders.
The sting of a 30-0 home defeat at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs in last year’s playoffs was still top of mind, and there was no way the Texans wanted to experience that kind of humiliation again.
A quick field goal by Nick Novak established there would be no shutout, and then head coach Bill O’Brien saw a complete effort on the part of his offense and defense, and the Texans soundly defeated the undermanned Raiders 27-14.
Oakland was forced to start rookie Connor Cook against the league’s top-ranked defense, and the results were fairly predictable. The Raiders were shackled for most of the game and, and Cook completed just 18 of 45 passes for 161 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.
Cook had problems with his accuracy, but he was also hampered by drops from receivers like Michael Crabtree that kept the Raiders from keeping drives alive.
The Houston offense exceeded expectations as Brock Osweiler was better than he had been in the regular season. The Texans’ quarterback was calm and in control as he completed 14 of 25 passes for 168 yards with a …
