The dream season ended Saturday afternoon for the Oakland Raiders, as they fell to the Houston Texans 27-14 at NRG Stadium in the Wild Card round of the AFC playoffs.
Saturday's clash in Texas was the Raiders first postseason game in 14 years, but a mix of a sluggish offense, and an early offensive onslaught by the Texans proved to be just too much for the Silver and Black to overcome.
The Raiders will now regroup and look towards to the offseason, but before we put the 2016 campaign to a close, let's look back at the playtime percentages from the loss to the Texans, and see what we can learn from the numbers.
Offense
Cook goes the distance– Give Connor Cook credit; the rookie didn't hang his head after Saturday's loss to the Texans, or make any excuses about being thrown in the fire in his first NFL start. The former Michigan State Spartan went the distance against the Texans, playing all 75 offensive snaps, and while he did struggle at times, he also flashed the raw ability that made him a coveted player by General Manager Reggie McKenzie in the last year's NFL Draft.
"[I got] pressured a little bit, and it got to me sometimes," said Cook. "But, it falls on me. There were one or two where I held on to the ball too long and I just need to get it out of my hands and to the backs, check it down, stuff like that I can improve on. They had very good coverage on the outside. They play very good defense and the windows were tight, and again, that falls on my shoulders to deliver very accurate balls to our receivers."
In total, Cook finished 18 of 44 for 161 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions.
Holmes leads the receivers– The leading receiver in Saturday's game against the Texans was an unlikely one, as Andre Holmes finished his 2016 season on a high note, hauling in four catches for a team-high 50 yards, and one touchdown. Particularly in the second half, Holmes proved to be a good outlet for Cook, and as the day wore on, the Raiders rookie quarterback looked to grow more and more comfortable throwing to No. 18. In total, Holmes played 34 (45%) of the Raiders offensive snaps.
Murray finds the end zone– The run game had a hard time igniting Saturday afternoon – save one drive – but on that drive, Latavius Murray was able to find the end zone, scoring a two-yard touchdown, the first of his postseason career. The Raiders Pro Bowl running back played 37 snaps (49%) totaling 12 rushes for a team-leading 39 yards, and the aforementioned touchdown.
Defense
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Mack fills up the stat sheet **– Once again, Khallil Mack was a dominant force defensively for the Silver and Black. Mack – who earlier in the week was once again named first-team All-Pro by the Associated Press – was a constant force around the football, and made life difficult all day for Brock Osweiler and the Texans offense. No. 52 played every one of the Raiders 74 defensive snaps, totaling a team-high 11 tackles, and two tackles for loss.
Trawick continues to see an expanded role– After stepping in for an injured Nate Allen in the Raiders regular season finale against the Denver Broncos, Brynden Trawick once again saw significant snaps on the defensive side of the football, in addition to his duties on special teams. Trawick played 41 snaps (55%), finishing the matchup against the Texans with three tackles, and one tackle for loss.
Riley finishes the season strong– In addition to Khalil Mack, linebacker Perry Riley, Jr., also played every snap in the Raiders loss to the Texans Saturday afternoon at NRG Stadium. In the Silver and Black's season finale, the veteran linebacker finished with six tackles, but seemed to be around the ball far more than his final stats indicate.
