Raiders get rude awakening in measuring stick test with Texans

HOUSTON – It’s a tricky thing sometimes when you go looking for answers.Especially the brutally honest kind.Because if you aren’t truly prepared for what you might hear – or, in this case, what you might see – the truth can hit like a two-by-four.The Raiders came to Houston this week looking for exactly that kind of honesty.They sought out the Texans specifically for Tuesday’s joint practice, viewing two hours in the suffocating Texas heat against one of the NFL’s best teams – and arguably its best defense – as a measuring stick.No sugarcoating.

No grading on a curve.No hiding behind the familiarity of practicing against teammates whose strengths, weaknesses and tendencies you’ve studied for weeks.Just a straight-up examination against a defense capable of exposing every flaw you have.“We kind of knew that this would be a good test for us,” said Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins.As in, with a little more than three weeks remaining before their season opener under new head coach Klint Kubiak, the Raiders wanted to know where they stood.They found out.And the answer was impossible to miss.The Texans look every bit like a playoff team, and one capable of doing some damage once they get there.The Raiders look like what they are: a team in the early stages of a rebuild, with a considerable amount of work still ahead.Nowhere was that gap more apparent than along the Raiders’ offensive line, the position group they most needed to test against Houston’s relentless defensive front.It did not go well.Straight up.The Raiders were too often pushed backward in pass protection and failed to consistently impose their will in the run game.The result was Kirk Cousins and Fernando Mendoza playing far too often under duress, and Ashton Jeanty struggling to find room to run.“We all know that we’re not anywhere near where we want to be,” Kubiak said.

“We’ve got to keep getting better.”There are reasons to believe the Raiders’ offensive line is ...