HOUSTON — Las Vegas Raiders coach Klint Kubiak isn’t one for long-winded answers, anyway.
But his response to whether or not a review of the film from Tuesday’s joint practice against the Texans would affect his decision on playing time for Thursday’s 5 p.m. preseason game between the teams at Reliant Stadium was as succinct as possible.
“Yes,” Kubiak answered in full.
It was a fairly clear message that he may not have been overly thrilled with the results of a joint practice that saw his offense struggle, particularly in the trenches, against one of the best defenses in the league.
Kubiak had earlier in his news conference been non-committal about whether any of the projected starters would play in Thursday’s game.
The joint practices actually offer a better opportunity for teams to see expanded reps between first-teamers than preseason games do, so teams often hold out starters in preseason games after the joint sessions.
It appears that’s exactly what the Texans plan on doing.
Change in plans
A day after Houston coach DeMeco Ryans said he did expect to have his starters on the field Thursday, reports surfaced locally that there would be a change in plans. The Texans are expected to rest most, if not all, of their starters after reviewing the work they were able to get in on the practice field Tuesday.
The decision may also have been influenced by a key injury as the Texans learned receiver Jayden Higgins would miss the season as a result of a torn ACL suffered during Tuesday’s practice.
The Raiders appeared to emerge from the session unscathed, though guard Jackson Powers-Johnson is unlikely to play after leaving Monday’s practice early with the athletic trainers.
That could open the door a bit for Caleb Rogers, with whom Powers-Johnson has been competing for the starting right guard spot.
“He’s a great presence,” quarterback Kirk Cousins said of Rogers. “He’s got a lot of dog to him. He’s a fighter, competitive, and wants to be a really good player.
“I think that whole group up front is working really hard. They come to work every day with a great demeanor as a unit, as individuals, and I like the way they approach their job.”
They do have to be better, however.
While the offensive line is expected to be significantly improved this season, it met its match in the vaunted defensive front of the Texans on Tuesday.
If the starting group is on the field at all Thursday, especially if it’s against the Houston backups, it will need to have some success to start building some confidence as the regular season approaches.
The same goes for a defense that was shredded by the Cardinals in the preseason opener and largely struggled against the Texans on Tuesday.
No panic in preseason
These aren’t things to panic about at this point of the preseason. Not only is there still plenty of time to prepare for Week 1 against the Dolphins on Sept. 13, but the Raiders really aren’t fully unleashing their new scheme.
But it’s important to show improvement in the areas in which they have struggled.
“I think you always feel like you’re trying to get it better,” Cousins said. “I don’t think you ever kind of sit back and say we’re ready to go. If we had to play Miami today, we could, but I think (Tuesday) was a great reminder that, ‘Hey, we’ve got more work to do.’
“We’ve got more details to lock in on, and more coaching to take, and that’s what the next few weeks will be for.”
That starts on Thursday.
It’s unclear if Cousins will play and if he does, it would likely be a cameo like the preseason opener when he led a touchdown drive to start the game and then gave way to rookie Fernando Mendoza.
Mendoza is expected to see plenty of action Thursday and should be able to build some confidence against the Texans’ reserves.
“He’s going to get lots of reps this preseason,” Kubiak said. “He needs every one of them.”
Many of the team’s younger players will also get extended looks on both sides of the ball as some try to earn more playing time and others hope to just land a place on the roster.
Plenty of eyes will be on the young players in the secondary after some up and down moments in both the preseason game and joint practices.
Rookie cornerback Jermod McCoy gave up a pair of touchdowns in spots where he was isolated at the goal line last week in his return from more than 18 months away from competitive action, but also had some good reps. He even saw some first-team snaps Tuesday and gets another chance to play in a game and settle into the speed of the league.
The same goes for fellow rookies in the defensive backfield like Hezekiah Masses, Treydan Stukes and Dalton Johnson.
“I mean, they come out every day and fly around, and they don’t really make the same mistakes twice,” veteran safety Jeremy Chinn said of the group. “If they do make a mistake, they’re making it at full speed. That’s all you can really ask for.
“So, they come out, they get better every single day. It’s good to see.”
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.
Up next
Who: Las Vegas Raiders at Houston Texans
Where: Reliant Stadium
When: 5 p.m. Thursday
TV: ESPN
