Brock Osweiler returns to lead Houston Texans to 27-14 wild card win over Oakland Raiders
Lamar Miller and DeAndre Hopkins contribute touchdowns to set up meeting with either the Kansas City Chiefs or New England Patriots in the divisional round next weekend
Brock Osweiler finally looked like the player Houston spent US$72 million on after throwing for a touchdown and running for another to lead the Texans to a 27-14 wild card play-off win over the Oakland Raiders on Saturday.
Osweiler, who was benched last month, got his job back this week with Tom Savage out with a concussion, and played his best game of the season to give the Texans their first play-off victory since the 2012 season.
Houston and their top-ranked defence, led by Jadeveon Clowney and Whitney Mercilus, bounced back after an embarrassing 30-0 wild card loss to Kansas City last season to advance to face either the Chiefs or the New England Patriots in the divisional round next weekend.
“We’ve been doing it all season as a defence,” Clowney said. “We’ll just continue to play as a unit.”
Watch: Oakland Raiders v Houston Texans highlights
The Raiders’ first trip to the play-offs since the 2002 season, when they went to the Super Bowl, ended with a thud behind the struggles of third-string rookie Connor Cook as he threw for 161 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.