The injury news hit Houston harder this week. Jayden Higgins tore his ACL in a joint practice with Las Vegas and is done for the year, pushing Xavier Hutchinson and Tank Dell into bigger roles behind Nico Collins. The Raiders weren't spared either — Chigozie Anusiem was carted off with a knee injury during the game, and Buddy Johnson left with a shoulder issue. Preseason football chews through depth charts, and this one chewed through two of them.
None of it played out under bad conditions — Reliant Stadium's a dome, so the 95-degree Houston afternoon never factored in. What did factor in was who stayed on the field longer. Vegas' plan to run Cousins deep into the game and hand off to Mendoza for the second half meant more continuity than Houston got from its constantly-rotating QB room, and it showed up on the scoreboard.