Rosenfels stays cool in Black Hole
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Whether it's in a starting role or relief, Sage Rosenfels once again saved his best for the fourth quarter.
Rosenfels connected with Andre' Davis on a 42-yard touchdown pass midway through the fourth quarter that helped the Houston Texans snap a three-game skid with a 24-17 victory over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday in the Black Hole.
Getting his first start of the season in place of the injured Matt Schaub, Rosenfels took some time to find his groove.
Once he did, he helped the Texans go into the bye week on a positive note and earned his first career win as a starter.
"It is a lot more pressure," Rosenfels said of his third career start. "To think about that all week is different. It was driving me nuts in the hotel yesterday and this morning."
Rosenfels had played in relief of Schaub the past three weeks, rallying Houston (4-5) from a 32-7 deficit two weeks ago against Tennessee before losing 38-36. Against the Raiders (2-6), he made the play that ended a comeback attempt after Oakland had cut a 17-point deficit to 7 early in the fourth quarter.
On third-and-2, Davis sped past cornerback Stanford Routt and caught the long TD pass that gave the Texans a 24-10 lead with 7:50 to go.
The Raiders, who host the 3-5 Bears next week, have lost four straight since a two-game winning streak in late September, and the calls already have started for No. 1 overall draft pick JaMarcus Russell to play.
Starting QB Josh McCown, who moved back into the starting role after missing four games with a broken toe, was booed from the start. Frustrated fans began their chants for Russell in the first half.
When McCown played earlier this season, the calls were for Daunte Culpepper to play. But now after watching Culpepper struggle when McCown got hurt, the fans are looking to the future with Russell.
"As much they may hate me or anybody else they don't understand how I feel," McCown said. "Nobody in this room and none of the fans want to feel what I feel right now. Trust me. It's a sick, hurting feeling you can't describe."
The Raiders again got off to a slow start, failing to score in the first half. The closest they got to scoring came late in the half after a drive stalled at the Houston 46. Coach Lane Kiffin opted to try a record-setting 64-yard field goal instead of punting on fourth-and-9.
Sebastian Janikowski, whose career long is 55 yards, had plenty of distance, but the ball bounced off the right upright.
"It wasn't going to be a distance issue. He felt great going that direction," Kiffin said. "It would have been a spark for us going into the locker room at halftime, but it hit the post."
Instead, it led to 3 points for Houston. The Texans took over at the Oakland 46 and moved 24 yards for a 40-yard field goal by Kris Brown that made it 17-0 at halftime.