By Jay Betsill
Game Info
Sunday – November 24 – Noon
TV: CBS
Reliant Stadium – Houston
Undrafted free agent quarterback Matt McGloin (the 17th signal caller to start for the Raiders since the 2003 season) threw three touchdown passes in his first NFL start and the Oakland Raiders extended Houston’s franchise-record skid to eight games as the Texans fell 28-23 at Reliant Stadium. Texans head coach Gary Kubiak returned from a mini-stroke, coaching upstairs from the booth on doctor’s orders two weeks after collapsing at halftime of the NBC Sunday Night Football contest against the Colts.
Trailing by 11, Kubiak replaced quarterback Case Keenum with Matt Schaub and after cutting the deficit to six late in the game, Schaub’s pass to Andre Johnson on fourth down was broken up. The two were seen exchanging words on the sidelines afterward, but both downplayed the disagreement.
“It’s just emotions, emotions of the game, a culmination of a lot of things, but stuff we’ll keep between us,” Schaub said.
Next up, the Texans (2-8) welcome the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-9) to Houston in a battle of the cellar dwellers of the AFC South. Kubiak announced that in spite of the benching, he will start Keenum ahead of Schaub this week against the Jaguars. Keenum threw for 170 yards with a touchdown and an interception while Schaub had 155 yards against the Raiders. Houston has averaged 29.6 points during a five-game winning streak in the series, including a 43-37 overtime win in Houston last November.
The Jags snapped their 13-game losing streak with a win over the Titans on November 10 and followed that up with a 27-14 home loss to Arizona last Sunday. Cardinals quarterback threw for 419 yards and two TDs against Jacksonville’s secondary, so that should bode well for Keenum’s chance at his first win and the Texans ending their skid.
Look for the Texans to come out on top and avoid falling into a tie for last place in the division.
