In a rare occurrence, the Houston Texans and Las Vegas Raiders are set to play each other on Sunday in a game that will decide which team is the worst in their conference. As it stands now, Houston has a half-game advantage on Las Vegas with their Week 1 tie being the only deciding factor between the teams’ records.
Buy Texans TicketsThe Raiders sit at 1-4 after securing their only win against the Denver Broncos in early October. They’ve lost to the Los Angeles Chargers, Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans, and Kansas City Chiefs to begin their 2022 campaign, though the scrappiness they have shown in defeat belies their pitiful record.
Given that both teams are at rock-bottom in the AFC standings, most viewers around the country will likely tune into other matchups. The allure of watching the Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers in the same time slot may be too much even for Texans and Raiders fans to contend with.
But in a game of this magnitude, unimportant as it may be for the end-of-season playoff picture, intrigue may prove to be easier to find than some think. Houston has a roster that is chock-full of young talent, particularly on defense and is looking to prove that they can win a game on the road against a challenging opponent.
Similarly, the Raiders are out to show Sin City that they aren’t pushovers and that they are better than the absolute worst team in the NFL this season.
Both teams will play on Sunday with nothing to lose except their pride, which could use a win to gain or keep any morale that might help them continue to battle in the coming weeks. Neither of these teams is expected to make the playoff, but that doesn’t matter. Sunday’s tilt between Houston and Las Vegas will determine which team has the guts to play through adversity with an edge and will likely be an early indication of which team might have the conference’s highest draft pick next April.
