Raiders-Texans: JaMarcus Russell Throws Pair of Touchdowns, Slashes Texans 27-16

It took 15 games, but the Oakland Raiders, on Sunday and against the Houston Texans, may have put together their best 60 minutes of football of the season. JaMarcus Russell threw a pair of touchdown passes while Johnnie Lee Higgins scored twice, leading Oakland to a 27-16 win over Houston at McAfee Coliseum.

Oakland dominated the first quarter. They put up some decent offense as Russell threw a 20-yard TD pass to wide receiver Chaz Schilens, putting the Raiders up 7-0. Houston would respond with a one-yard TD run by RB Vonta Leach, knotting the game at seven-all. Next the Raiders converted a pair of field goals by Sebastian Janikowski—the second with five seconds left in the period—pushing Oakland’s edge to 13-7.

The second quarter was relatively quiet as the only scoring was a pair of field goals by Houston kicker Kris Brown—a 53-yarder and a 24-yarder—which tied the game at 13-all as both teams went to their locker rooms at halftime.

The third quarter was the Johnny Lee Higgins Quarter. He hooked up with Russell on a 29-yard TD pass while returning a punt 80 yards for another score, giving Oakland an insurmountable 27-13 lead. A 40-yard field goal by Brown for Houston rounded out the scoring for the game.

Russell had his best game this season, going 18-of-25 for 236 yards and two TDs while Houston’s Matt Schaub went 19-of-36 for 255 with an interception.

Justin Fargas led the Raiders' rushing attack with 93 yards on 22 carries while Darrell McFadden rushed 12 times for 46 yards while catching five passes for 41 yards. Steve Slaton led Houston with 66 yards on 18 carries while catching five passes for 36 yards.

Tight end Zach Miller led the Raiders receivers with four receptions for 70 yards, while Higgins caught three for 56 yards and a TD and Schilens caught three for 52 yards and a score.

Owen Daniels led the Texans receivers with seven receptions for 111 yards while David Anderson caught a pass for 65 yards.

Oakland (4-11) closes out their regular season when they travel to Florida to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next Sunday, while Houston (7-8) returns home to finish their season, hosting the Chicago Bears.