Osweiler, Texans dump Raiders

HOUSTON (AP) — Brock Osweiler redeemed himself after last month’s benching.

Jadeveon Clowney established himself as a postseason force.

And the Houston Texans got their first playoff victory since the 2012 season Saturday against the Oakland Raiders.

Osweiler, a 2009 Flathead High School graduate, threw for a touchdown and ran for another to lead the Texans to a 27-14 wild-card playoff win over Oakland. Clowney, erasing any doubts he deserved to be the top pick in the 2014 draft, got his first career interception.

Osweiler, benched on Dec. 18, got his job back this week with Tom Savage out with a concussion, played his best game of the season. It was the first career playoff game for Osweiler, who was benched for Peyton Manning before the postseason last season with Denver, and coach Bill O’Brien said he’ll start again next week. Osweiler finished with 168 yards passing.

“It just goes back to having confidence in my teammates,” Osweiler said. “Believing in what you see and just rip it. Cut it loose and don’t have any hesitation. I trust that my teammates, the skill guys, they’re going to be where they’re supposed to be . and they’re going to make me look good in the end.”

Houston (10-7) and its top-ranked defense, led by 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 New England in the divisional round next weekend. Clowney was roundly criticized in his first two injury-plagued seasons before starring this year to help make up for the loss of J.J. Watt.

“Those guys picked me No. 1; they (saw) something in me,” Clowney said. “Things didn’t go well earlier in my career, but I’m on the right track now. Things are coming together, I’m healthier. I’m playing good ball and we’re all coming together and playing good defense.”

The Raiders’ first trip to the playoffs since the 2002 season, when they went to the Super Bowl, ended with a thud behind the struggles of third-string rookie Connor Cook. He threw for 161 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.

“It was his first start, on the road, in a playoff game, against the No. 1-ranked defense. It was a tough draw for him,” coach Jack Del Rio said. “We had hopes that we would be able to do enough around him so he wouldn’t have to do as much.”

He became the first quarterback in NFL history to make his first start in a playoff game after MVP contender Derek Carr broke his leg two weeks ago, and Matt McGloin injured his shoulder on Sunday. His performance wasn’t helped by star left tackle Donald Penn missing the game with a knee injury, which ended a streak of 160 straight starts.

“We missed Donald, he had a great year for us, “ Del Rio said. “Losing a Pro Bowl tackle was a blow.”

Houston led by 13 at halftime and made it 27-7 on a 1-yard run by Osweiler early in the fourth quarter.

Oakland cornerback David Amerson believes things would have been different if not for the team’s injuries.

“I’ve got all the faith in Connor or Matt — any backups we’ve got,” he said. “But they know, at full strength, ain’t nobody in the league touching us, man. We’re going to take this loss on the chin, and we’re going to come back, for sure.”

Oakland 7 0 0 7 — 14

Houston 10 10 0 7 — 27

First Quarter

Hou—FG Novak 50, 7:57.

Hou—Miller 4 run (Novak kick), 6:16.

Oak—Murray 2 run (Janikowski kick), 1:01.

Second Quarter

Hou—FG Novak 38, 8:43.

Hou—Hopkins 2 pass from Osweiler (Novak kick), 1:20.

Fourth Quarter

Hou—Osweiler 1 run (Novak kick), 12:28.

Oak—Holmes 8 pass from Cook (Janikowski kick), 8:10.

A—71,790.

Oak Hou

First downs 16 19

Total Net Yards 203 291

Rushes-yards 21-64 44-123

Passing 139 168

Punt Returns 6-70 4-23

Kickoff Returns 3-61 3-46

Interceptions Ret. 0-0 3-29

Comp-Att-Int 18-45-3 14-25-0

Sacked-Yards Lost 3-22 0-0

Punts 10-45.7 9-46.0

Fumbles-Lost 0-0 3-0

Penalties-Yards 8-63 7-65

Time of Possession 26:31 33:29

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—Oakland, Murray 12-39, Washington 4-16, Olawale 1-6, Richard 3-3, Cooper 1-0. Houston, Miller 31-73, Grimes 4-30, Osweiler 6-15, Blue 2-4, Prosch 1-1.

PASSING—Oakland, Cook 18-45-3-161. Houston, Osweiler 14-25-0-168.

RECEIVING—Oakland, Holmes 4-50, Rivera 4-31, Crabtree 2-33, Walford 2-16, Cooper 2-10, Richard 2-8, Murray 1-12, Roberts 1-1. Houston, Hopkins 5-67, Fuller 4-37, Griffin 3-29, Fiedorowicz 2-35.

MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.

Detroit 0 3 3 0 — 6

Seattle 0 10 0 16 — 26

Second Quarter

Sea—Richardson 2 pass from R.Wilson (Hauschka kick), 7:07.

Sea—FG Hauschka 43, 1:55.

Det—FG Prater 51, :20.

Third Quarter

Det—FG Prater 53, 4:03.

Fourth Quarter

Sea—FG Hauschka 27, 14:12.

Sea—Rawls 4 run (kick failed), 8:49.

Sea—Baldwin 13 pass from R.Wilson (Hauschka kick), 3:36.

A—68,788.

Det Sea

First downs 13 24

Total Net Yards 231 387

Rushes-yards 15-49 38-177

Passing 182 210

Punt Returns 1-0 1-5

Kickoff Returns 4-76 1-20

Interceptions Ret. 0-0 0-0

Comp-Att-Int 18-32-0 23-30-0

Sacked-Yards Lost 3-23 3-14

Punts 5-46.4 3-37.7

Fumbles-Lost 1-0 0-0

Penalties-Yards 7-68 6-40

Time of Possession 23:21 36:39

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—Detroit, Zenner 11-34, Stafford 3-15, Tate 1-0. Seattle, Rawls 27-161, Collins 6-13, Baldwin 1-6, Reece 1-0, R.Wilson 3-(minus 3).

PASSING—Detroit, Stafford 18-32-0-205. Seattle, R.Wilson 23-30-0-224.

RECEIVING—Detroit, Zenner 6-54, M.Jones 4-81, Tate 3-25, Boldin 2-24, Ebron 2-23, Mulligan 1-(minus 2). Seattle, Baldwin 11-104, Richardson 3-48, Graham 3-37, Kearse 2-14, Collins 1-11, Reece 1-5, Willson 1-4, Rawls 1-1.

MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.