Perhaps Tom Walsh should have been demoted to placekicker or tight end.
Costly mistakes on offense and special teams propelled the Oakland
Raiders to their 10th loss on Sunday, falling to the Houston Texans , 23-14.
Playing with an injured back, kicker Sebastian Janikowski was off-target
on all three of his field goal attempts. The 250-pounder missed a
53-yard attempt late in the first half, a 37-yarder early in the third
quarter, and a 29-yard stab just six minutes later.
Earlier in the week, the Raiders auditioned Paul Edinger, who had
previously kicked for the Minnesota Vikings , and rookie Kurt Smith from
Virginia. Though, on Thursday, Janikowski assured media that he would be
ready for Sunday's home meeting with the struggling Texans.
"If I kick [today] I will be all right," he said four days before
gameday. "Even if I kick Saturday, I'll be fine."
It turned out he wasn't so fine.
The nine points No. 11 left on the board were much of the reason why the
Raiders fell short of their third possible victory on Sunday, but not
the entire reason.
Along with a struggling kicking game, the defensive side of the special
teams unit also sent Oakland home without a win. The team allowed an
87-yard kick return at the outset of the second half that would lead to
a Wali Lundy 3-yard touchdown run on the ensuing play. Then, early in
the fourth quarter, cornerback Dexter Wynn returned a punt 58 yards to
the Oakland 21-yard line. Had it not been for an open-field takedown by
punter Shane Lechler, the Texans would have exchanged a 42-yard field
goal for seven points.
After both long returns, the Texans led by just three points.
Credit the Raiders' defense, which held quarterback David Carr to
minus-5 net passing yards. Houston's win marks the first time since 1981
a team came out on top after passing for negative yardage. The
27-year-old quarterback finished the day with just seven completions on
14 attempts for 32 yards, but was sacked five times for a loss of 37
yards. In all, the offense gained just 124 yards -- 178 yards less than
Oakland -- and fumbled three times, losing two.
As many as Randal Williams lost in the fourth quarter.
The tight end, who caught six passes for 46 yards on the day, fumbled on
two consecutive offensive plays, both of which came with the game within
a one-score reach. The first fumble set the Texans up for a 47-yard
field goal; the second set them up for a 39-yarder just two minutes, 25
seconds later. After No. 86 let the ball hit the turf twice, the score
was widened to 23-14, and the Raiders were out of timeouts.
"You can't make mistakes that we made offensively and the mistakes on
our coverage teams and expect to win against anybody," head coach Art
Shell said following the game.
It seems like the Oakland Raiders can only beat themselves.
