I was excited about this game as soon as I saw the schedule for Week 5. These two up-and-coming teams – both bottom-dwellers now fancied to take their division crowns – have impressed in both wins and losses this season so far.
Despite the Texans being runaway favourites for suddenly weakened AFC South, they are shipping games at a time they need to be building a commanding lead. Losing to the Raiders now, though, may be a defeat from which they can draw a lot. I believe they will win the South and that the Raiders will win the West, with the pair sharing the third and fourth seeds, meaning that should they win through the playoffs they will face-off in the AFC Championship game. Oftentimes, we’ve seen playoff rematches go the other way because of what the losing coach from the regular season has learned and has been able to study the tape of the loss and modify his unit for victory, whereas the winning coach is forced to either stick with the originally winning formula or twist it to confuse the opposition but, in the process, risk fluffing the whole show.
The Raiders should take heart from this win and hopefully the success they’ve enjoyed so far will provide them with the necessary swagger to keep rolling.
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