NFL Wild Card Saturday: Takeaways from Raiders vs. Texans and Lions vs. Seahawks

Congratulations to the Houston Texans and Seattle Seahawks. One down, three to go. And congratulations to you if you managed to get through a strange NFL Wild Card Saturday.

As expected, it was ugly in Houston.

The Texans handily defeated an Oakland Raiders team, 27-14, that appeared to be out of sync and out of gas without quarterback Derek Carr and Carr's backup, Matt McGloin. While there were at least some more fireworks in Seattle, the Detroit Lions didn't provide much entertainment with a touchdown-free performance in yet another road playoff loss, falling 26-6.

Here are three takeaways from each Saturday game.

Brock Osweiler Is a Good Quarterback

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It's that simple. Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler has never been a great NFL quarterback, but the reality is the tall, strong-armed signal-caller is a lot better than he often looked in 2016. 

Osweiler was by no means dominant, and it's still fair to wonder if he's capable of living up to that four-year, $72 million contract he signed in the 2016 offseason. 

But the 26-year-old did everything the Texans needed him to do Saturday, which is impressive considering he was benched for his poor play just last month. 

Osweiler completed 12 of 18 first-half passes for 146 yards, posting a triple-digit passer rating to help Houston build a 20-7 lead at halftime. He threw only seven passes as the Texans played it safe and milked the clock in the second half, but the key was that Osweiler and the offense had a turnover-free performance. 

Throw in that he also ran six times for 15 yards and a touchdown, and it was a stronger performance than his broad passing numbers indicate. 

Osweiler led three impressive drives in the second quarter alone, generating 10 points on those possessions to give the Texans a commanding lead. On a touchdown drive that provided an exclamation mark late in that quarter, he completed back-to-back, picture-perfect deep passes to Will Fuller and DeAndre Hopkins. 

Bad quarterbacks don't make those types of throws in big spots, especially on consecutive plays. 

In order to win next weekend, Osweiler will have to make a lot more of those throws. But even if that doesn't happen, he showed us something in the Wild Card Game.

Even Without J.J. Watt, the Texans Have an Elite Defense

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On paper, the Texans had the league's top-ranked defense in 2016. But yards allowed isn't the most appropriate way to measure a defensive unit's prowess.

A lot of folks still doubted the Texans on that side of the ball, and for good reason. They're without three-time Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt; they played a lot of soft teams in the regular season; only five defenses had fewer takeaways; and they ranked outside of the top 10 with 20.5 points per game allowed. 

But Saturday, Romeo Crennel's D was nearly perfect. 

Against an admittedly shorthanded Raiders offense, Houston gave up just seven points before garbage time, and that one Oakland touchdown came when a great punt return gave it the ball at the Texans' 38-yard line. They forced the Raiders to punt 10 times, stopping them on 14 of 16 third-down attempts. Further, they held Oakland to just 203 yards while intercepting quarterback Connor Cook three times.

They also sacked Cook thrice, giving them 10 quarterback takedowns in their last three games. Former first-round pick Whitney Mercilus owns four of those sacks, two of which came Saturday, but even he hasn't been Houston's best defensive player. 

That's because 2014 No. 1 overall pick Jadeveon Clowney is playing the best football of his career. He set the tone with a huge interception in Oakland's red zone in the first quarter—a play that led directly to Houston's first touchdown. 

Cornerback A.J. Bouye has also become a star this year, and veteran linebacker Brian Cushing—another former first-round pick—is as healthy and productive as he's been in some time. 

It sure makes you wonder how good these guys would be with a healthy Watt.

The Raiders Had Nothing Left

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Connor Cook wasn't ready for the spotlight, but neither were his teammates. 

With Raiders franchise quarterback Derek Carr down and top backup Matt McGloin hurting, Cook became the first signal-caller in NFL history to make his first start in a playoff game. Unsurprisingly, he struggled, completing just 18 of 45 passes while throwing three interceptions and taking three sacks.

It didn't help that a weak Texans offense lit up the defense in the first half, one that scored 20 points before halftime for the first time since Week 4. It didn't help that the running game produced just 64 rushing yards on 21 carries. And it didn't help that, according to Pro Football Focus, Cook's receivers dropped a season-high six passes. 

For the Raiders to win a playoff game without Carr, everybody else had to perform. That didn't happen.

Superstar pass-rusher Khalil Mack had just two pressures, the defense had zero takeaways and zero sacks, and the offense committed too many errors, too many penalties. For the second consecutive week since losing Carr, they were flat. 

From the moment Carr broke his leg Christmas Eve, the Raiders were outscored 62-20 to finish the year. 

Few probably expected them to win on the road without Carr and starting left tackle Donald Penn. But even without those guys, the Raiders are better than what we saw in Houston.

Seahawks Find Two Unlikely Heroes in Rawls, Richardson

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The Seahawks weren't themselves this year. The neglected offensive line struggled immensely, quarterback Russell Wilson was plagued by early-season injuries, the offense lacked balance and the defense wasn't quite as dominant without superstar safety Earl Thomas. 

That's why Seattle needed some unlikely playoff heroes to emerge in order to make another Super Bowl run.

Two offensive players did exactly that, with running back Thomas Rawls rushing for a team playoff-record 161 yards and No. 3 receiver Paul Richardson making a pair of one-handed circus catches in big spots. 

With Marshawn Lynch long gone, Rawls was supposed to become the next stud back in Seattle this year. But he struggled early, got hurt and then struggled again—averaging a league-low 1.5 yards per carry during the final three weeks of the regular season.

He exploded against the Lions, picking up 10-plus yards four separate times in a dominant performance. That allowed the Seahawks to control the ball for nearly 37 minutes in a 26-6 wild-card victory. 

Meanwhile, Richardson had just 13 catches during the first 14 games of the season. But then he had a chance to replace the injured Tyler Lockett late in the year, and Saturday he made his presence felt.

The third-year second-round pick made a one-handed touchdown catch while draped in coverage on a fourth-down play in the second quarter. He made another key catch in tight coverage on a scoring drive later in that quarter, and then he had another one-handed grab to keep the game-sealing drive alive in the fourth. 

The Seahawks were inconsistent down the stretch this season, but more unexpected performances like those could make it possible for them to string together some victories in January. 

Seattle's Pass Protection Is Still an Issue

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Even with Thomas Rawls providing some much-needed balance on offense, the Seahawks were far from perfect on that side of the ball against Detroit. 

Seattle surrendered 22 sacks during the final five weeks of the regular season, with tackles George Fant and Garry Gilliam and guards Germain Ifedi and Mark Glowinski all struggling in pass protection. 

Against Detroit—a team that had a league-low eight sacks during the second half of the regular season—the Seahawks surrendered sacks on back-to-back plays in the first quarter. Wilson was sacked just once more the rest of the night, but he was still under pressure frequently, with Fant again struggling against a toothless defense. 

With a matchup against NFL sack leader Vic Beasley on the horizon, that doesn't bode well for Seattle's offense. For the Seahawks to keep rolling beyond the divisional round, Wilson will have to be a magician and Rawls will have to remain hot.

The Lions Aren't a Playoff-Caliber Team

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There were several calls—including a missed face mask on Paul Richardson's touchdown and a non-call due to a questionable uncatchable ruling on what would have been a big pass interference penalty—that didn't go the Lions' way, but that doesn't explain why they lost by 20 points.

"The Detroit Lions have been on the short end of the stick on some calls tonight," NBC's Cris Collinsworth said late in the game, "but that's not why they're losing this game. They're losing this game because they couldn't stop the run."

That was the primary issue for Detroit, which allowed Thomas Rawls to rush for 161 yards, 107 of which came in the first half. But it goes beyond that. Quarterback Matthew Stafford completed just 18 of 32 passes, with his receivers dropping three, and an offense that lacked balance all year had just 49 rushing yards on 15 carries. The D sacked Russell Wilson twice on Seattle's second series but took him down just once the rest of the night. 

No turnovers, but no touchdowns. And no takeaways on defense. The Lions were destroyed in the time-of-possession battle, and they lost the penalty battle, too. They were just 2-of-11 on third down, while Seattle was 9-of-16. 

But here's the thing: It marked the fourth straight lackluster performance for the Lions, who were outscored 116-57 in four consecutive losses to conclude their season. 

It's no coincidence all four of those losses came against playoff teams, because the Lions spent the first three months of the year accumulating lucky last-minute wins against mediocre teams like Indy, Philly, Los Angeles, Jacksonville and Chicago before the schedule got tough. Against teams that made the playoffs, the Lions were 0-6. 

These are the real Lions—a team ranked 27th in football by Football Outsiders and graded 28th in the league by Pro Football Focus. They didn't belong in the playoffs, and now they're history.