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 Foster carried 28 times for 138 yards and a touchdown Sunday,
leading the Texans to a 30-14 victory over Oakland at the O.co
Coliseum, spoiling the Raiders' home-opener.
Foster carried 27 times for 103 yards in the Texans' season-opening
victory the previous week against the Washington Redskins.
"He kind of knows what kind of running back I am and what I want to
be and what kind of running team we've been here in the past,"
Foster said. "He said he wants to continue that mode of running the
football and playing good defense, and that's the kind of team we'll
be."
Foster missed the final eight games with a back injury last season,
a 2-14 nightmare for Houston. This year, he is healthy again, and
the Texans are off to a 2-0 start.
"Just like last week, I feel like he got stronger as the game went
on," O'Brien said. "He's got really good vision, really good cutting
ability and he took care of the ball today. He's just an all-around
really, really good running back."
The Texans built a 17-0, first-half lead and led 27-0 after three
quarters before the Raiders (0-2) scored early in the fourth period
on running back Darren McFadden's 1-yard run.
 Texans quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who beat the Raiders in 2011
with the Buffalo Bills and 2013 with the Tennessee Titans, completed
14 of 19 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns with no
interceptions. Wide receiver Andre Johnson caught six passes for 74
yards, and wideout DeAndre Hopkins caught three passes for 22 yards
and a score.
O'Brien also unveiled a new offensive weapon -- J.J. Watt. The
All-Pro defensive end lined up as a tight end and caught his first
career NFL pass, good for a 1-yard touchdown in the first quarter.
"I feel like a little kid," Watt said. "It's pretty cool."
Raiders rookie quarterback Derek Carr, making his first career start
at the Coliseum, completed 27 of 42 passes for 263 yards with one
touchdown and two interceptions. He also led the Raiders in rushing
with 58 yards on four carries with a long of 41. Wide receiver James
Jones caught nine passes for 112 yards and a touchdown, a 9-yard
grab with 13 seconds to play. McFadden gained 37 yards on 12
carries.
"Whenever we lose, anything goes bad, put it all on me because I can
handle it," Carr said. "I have no problem doing that. As the leader
of the offense, I need to do a better job at my position and we'll
be better. I can promise you that. I work my tail off, and I'm going
to continue to work my tail off until this thing gets fixed."
Houston won the turnover battle 4-0, recovering two fumbles and
intercepting two passes. The Texans outrushed the Raiders 188 yards
to 101.
"That's a recipe for getting your butt kicked," Raiders coach Dennis
Allen said. "I told the players in there just now, the only people
that can change it are the people in that locker room, coaches and
players. We've got to make a conscious decision that we want to get
this thing changed. But you can't start off a game like that and
allow the opponent to just run the football down the field."
The Texans took the opening kick and drove 80 yards on nine plays
for a touchdown, Fitzpatrick hitting Watt with 9:37 left in the
first quarter. On second-and-4 from the Raiders' 41, Foster knifed
off left tackle and raced 40 yards. Two plays later, Fitzpatrick
found Watt, who lined up left and broke wide open behind the
Raiders' defense.
Oakland went three-and-out, and Houston drove 70 yards in 13 plays
for a touchdown. Foster scored on a 5-yard run with five seconds
left in the period, making it 14-0.
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"You work offseason so you can perform for your team in the season,"
Foster said. "Hopefully, that's what I'm doing, but it's a team
effort out there. I'm glad we got the win."
During Houston's second touchdown drive, Fitzpatrick hit tight end
Garrett Graham with a 26-yard pass on third-and-8 from the Texans'
47, taking advantage of a mismatch with Raiders linebacker Sio
Moore. Then on third-and-6 from the 23, Fitzpatrick threw a 10-yard
strike Johnson, who beat Raiders cornerback Tarell Brown.
Early in the second quarter, Texans cornerback Kareem Jackson cut in
front of tight end Mychal Rivera, intercepted Carr's pass and
returned it 56 yards to the Raiders' 24. That theft set up Randy
Bullock's 33-yard field goal, increasing Houston's lead to 17-0 with
10:31 left in the half.
"I think our defense is having fun right now," Watt said. "The way
the guys play, the way that everybody does their job, everybody
plays within the system, goes out there and flies around. It's a fun
defense to play in, but there are still some things we need to get
cleaned up."
The Raiders nearly caught a huge break late in the first half when
Jones caught a 25-yard pass, recovered his own fumble at Houston's
28 and ran 14 yards. But Jones fumbled again, with cornerback
Johnathan Joseph forcing the turnover. Strong safety D.J. Swearinger
recovered at the Houston 3.
The Texans capitalized on another Raiders turnover early in the
second half, increasing their lead to 24-0 on Fitzpatrick's 12-yard
touchdown pass to Hopkins with 8:29 left in the third quarter.
Houston's defense set up that score when Swearinger stripped Rivera
and Joseph recovered the fumble and returned it 49 yards to the
Raiders' 21.
Bullock's 39-yard field goal made it 27-0 with 3:14 remaining in the
third quarter.
NOTES: Raiders starting MLB Nick Roach (concussion) was inactive for
the second consecutive game. ... Raiders starting RB Maurice
Jones-Drew (hand) was inactive. ... Texans P Shane Lechler played
his first game at the O.co Coliseum since leaving the Raiders and
signing with Houston last season as a free agent. Lechler played his
first 13 NFL seasons with Oakland. ... Texans OLB Whitney Mercilus
started in place of Jadeveon Clowney, who underwent arthroscopic
knee surgery earlier in the week and was inactive. ... Raiders WR
Rod Streater (hip) and LB Sio Moore (ankle) left the game in the
third quarter. ... Texans SS D.J. Swearinger (elbow) left the game
in the fourth quarter.
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