MEXICO CITY — The Raiders shook off three-plus quarters of sloppy football to rally past the Houston Texans, 27-20, in a Monday Night Football thriller at Estadio Azteca.
Derek Carr threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Amari Cooper with 4:43 to play to give the Raiders the lead, and the Mexico City crowd of 76,473 got its money’s worth as Oakland took back sole control of first place in the AFC West with the win.
The Raiders (8-2) looked like they were going to put forth a nationally televised stinker when they trailed 20-13 with 10:59 to play before Carr delivered his third fourth-quarter comeback of the season.
Oakland broke out a serious wrinkle to suddenly shift the game. With Cooper lined up in the backfield, Raiders fullback Jamize Olawale was left open, and Carr fed it to him. Getting some downfield blocking from Mychal Rivera, Olawale showed off his wheels on a 75-yard touchdown that tied the game with 10:44 to play.
Houston got in great position to regain the lead but got aggressive and didn’t get any help from the officials. The Texans were spotted short of the first down on third and 2 from the Raiders’ 16 and elected to go for it on fourth down. That was again spotted short — both calls may have heavily favored the Raiders — and the Raiders took over.
Carr and running back Latavius Murray connected for a 39-yard pass play that moved Oakland into field goal range. They didn’t have to call on Sebastian Janikowski though because Carr threw a short pass to Cooper and, with Seth Roberts delivering a take out block, Cooper raced around several defenders for the go-ahead score.