Add The New York Post on Google HOUSTON — The Raiders collected plenty of info about themselves during their joint practice against the Texans on Tuesday.
Houston not only provided a great measuring stick to gauge progress and expose some areas that still need work, but also a great setting to get another glimpse at a rookie quarterback whose development continues to be one of the most intriguing stories of training camp.
Another opportunity to learn arrives Thursday night when the Raiders and Texans resume their work against one another. This time in each teams second preseason game.
Here are three things to focus on when the Raiders face the Texans.
The Raiders came to Houston wanting to challenge Mendoza, and the Texans more than obliged.
After an encouraging NFL debut against Arizona, the first overall pick was given his most demanding assignment yet Tuesday: extended work with the first-team offense against one of the NFL’s best defenses.
It wasn’t always pretty. Nor should anyone have expected it to be.
The Texans pressured him, disguised coverages and forced him to process things faster than he has at virtually any point since becoming a Raider. Mendoza made some plays and made some mistakes, including a goal-line interception that got returned 99 yards for a touchdown.
Mendoza completed 10 of 16 passes for 97 yards and a touchdown in the Raiders preseason opener against Arizona, but the numbers were almost secondary to the poise, processing and command he displayed.
He gets a chance on Thursday to show if those traits hold up after Houston gave him his first real NFL punch in the mouth.
Houston’s defensive front overwhelmed the Raiders far too often, putting heat and pressure on both Kirk Cousins and Mendoza and making life difficult for an offense trying to establish its identity.
It was a reminder that, for all the progress the offensive line has shown this summer, they still have a ways to go.
Houston is not expected to play its defensive starters, and it remains to be seen if Raiders coach Klint Kubiak plays his, but whoever plays along the Raiders offensive line plays tonight, the evaluation could not be clearer:
Nobody should confuse a preseason game with what awaits in September.
But after Tuesday, simply looking more sturdy and functional up front would represent an important step forward.
The Raiders surrendered 368 yards against Arizona in their preseason opener, then arrived in Houston and had difficulty containing the Texans’ running game during Tuesday’s joint practice.
Thursday provides an opportunity to get some answers
The first one is obvious: can the Raiders stop the run?
The Raiders are asking a collection of young defensive backs to grow up quickly. Jermod McCoy, Hezekiah Masses and others are getting valuable opportunities, but Houston and the Cardinals have both shown how unforgiving the NFL can be when technique, communication or discipline breaks down.
What matters is whether they learn from the ones they lose.
That really describes the Raiders’ entire trip to Houston.
