The Texans' four-game win streak ended at Oakland where they fell 27-16 to the Raiders. After scoring on their first possession, the Texans did not reach the end zone again and struggled in almost every facet of the game.
Kubiak takes the blame:The Raiders outplayed the Texans in every phase of the game. They gained more yards on offense (362 to 324). They converted more often on third downs (50 percent to 23 percent). And they made plays when it counted.
After the game, coach Gary Kubiak couldn't hide his disappointment and accepted the blame for his team's poor performance.
"Obviously, it starts with me," Kubiak said. "I have to have them ready to play. We didn't play with the same emotion or do some of the things that we've been doing as a football team this past month, so that starts with me.
"All of the things we went into the football game with saying we had to do to win, we didn't get them done. We did not run the ball well. Special teams-wise, we got beat in that phase handily. We didn't stop the run well enough throughout the game."
{QUOTE}The Texans allowed the Raiders to score on an 80-yard punt return and rush for 139 yards. Running back Justin Fargas sprinted through gaping holes and finished with 22 carries for 93 yards.
On offense, the Texans gained only 90 yards on the ground and their passing game, which was ranked fourth in league, was out of sync for most of the second half. Quarterback Matt Schaub finished 19-of-36 for 255 yards and an interception.
Schaub's most costly incompletion came at the beginning of the fourth quarter after defensive tackle Amobi Okoye forced a fumble by sacking quarterback JaMarcus Russell, and linebacker Kevin Bentley recovered the ball at the Oakland 14. On fourth-and-one, Kubiak decided not to kick a field goal and called a play to get wide receiver Kevin Walter open in the end zone.
"I felt good about the play," Kubiak said. "I know you kick a field goal there and get it within a touchdown and a two-point conversion. We had some momentum right there and we were going to have to do something special to come back and win that game. I liked my play I had. I thought they would come after us. They didn't come after us. We still had a chance with Kevin, but that's me and my gut feeling making that call."
Slaton slowed by the slop: Running back Steve Slaton had been on a tear during the Texans' four-game run. The rookie had rushed for more yards in the last five weeks than any player in the NFL, racking up 579 of his 1,124 yards in that time span.
That hot streak came to an end thanks in part to the cold rain that muddied the field in the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Slaton finished with 66 yards rushing on 18 carries (3.7 avg.).
The offensive line didn't give Slaton many creases, and the sloppy field kept him from making quick, one-cut moves and using his speed to break away.
"The field was pretty nasty," Kubiak said. "A lot of Steve's stuff that he makes big plays on, his cutbacks and some of those type of things, got negated I think a little bit."
Johnson not a factor, Daniels comes up big: Wide receiver Andre Johnson entered the game as the NFL's leader in receptions and receiving yards. He left Oakland with only two catches for 19 yards, both of which came in the fourth quarter.
Cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, who was voted to his first Pro Bowl this season, matched up with Johnson for most of the game, but the Raiders kept the Texans guessing by changing up their coverages and putting different corners on Johnson. Oakland also did an excellent job of taking away the Texans' deep routes and forcing Schaub to throw underneath.
"They were playing some coverages that they are not normally running," Schaub said. "They were trying to take Andre away and they were taking some things away from us that we normally could do on a normal basis. They were giving us some underneath stuff and some other concepts and we were going to them."
The primary target Schaub deferred to was tight end Owen Daniels, who made a slew of tough catches over the middle. Daniels led all receivers with seven catches for 111 yards (15.9 avg.), including a 35-yard grab to set up the Texans' lone touchdown.
Kris Brown bests himself: Kicker Kris Brown set two franchise records on Sunday, making the most field goals in one season (28) and scoring the most points in a season (117).
He held the previous records in both categories. He made 26 field goals in 2005 and scored 115 points last season.
Brown was successful on all three attempts at Oakland, nailing field goals for 53, 24 and 40 yards.
