MEXICO CITY — Derek Carr woke up a struggling Oakland offense by throwing two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter as the Raiders capped a successful trip to Mexico with a 27-20 victory over the Houston Texans on Monday night.

Oakland had been held to 120 yards through three quarters with the running game going nowhere and Carr finding few open receivers downfield. But that suddenly changed in the fourth quarter to give the Raiders (8-2) their fourth straight win for the first time since 2002 .

With star receiver Amari Cooper lined up in the backfield, Carr found fullback Jamize Olawale open for a 75-yard catch and run that tied Houston (6-4) at 20.

Then Oakland took advantage on two questionable spots by the officials to take over on downs at the 15 and drove 85 yards in five plays to take the lead on a 35-yard pass to Cooper .

That set off loud celebrations from the pro-Raiders crowd of 76,743 in the second regular-season game ever played in Mexico. What was originally scheduled as an Oakland home game featured Raiders music during stoppages, Tommie Smith lighting the Al Davis torch in a memorable return to Mexico City nearly a half-century after his Black Power salute at the 1968 Olympics and frequent “RAI-DERS!” chants.

While the atmosphere was electric, the field was a bit slippery leading to some falls and the high elevation 7,380 feet above sea level played a factor.

Advertisement

JETS: Ryan Fitzpatrick will be New York’s starting quarterback Sunday against the Patriots.

“He’s healthy, he’s been our starter,” Coach Todd Bowles said. “I don’t see anything that could change that right now.”

Fitzpatrick sat out the Jets’ previous game against Los Angeles on Nov. 13 with a sprained left knee. Bryce Petty made his first regular-season NFL start and went 19 of 32 for 163 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the 9-6 loss.

Bowles said last week that he would consider which quarterback would give the Jets (3-7) the best chance of winning against the Patriots (8-2).

CARDINALS: With his team in the midst of a highly disappointing season, Coach Bruce Arians was in the hospital Monday after feeling ill overnight, the team said.

The Cardinals issued a statement saying the 64-year-old coach was not feeling well Sunday night after returning home from Arizona’s game in Minnesota and his wife took him to the hospital.

Advertisement

All tests conducted so far had come back favorably, the team said. Cardinals safety Tyrann Mathieu said in a tweet, “My guy BA just text me, he will be OK.”

COLTS: Indianapolis’ second straight win may have cost them quarterback Andrew Luck.

Luck entered the concussion protocol after complaining about concussion-like symptoms following Sunday’s 24-17 victory over Tennessee. Coach Chuck Pagano said he believes the injury concussion occurred in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t cite which play Luck was injured on.

BENGALS: Running back Giovani Bernard has a torn anterior cruciate ligament, but star receiver A.J. Green might be able to return from a hamstring injury this season, Coach Marvin Lewis said.

Scans on Bernard’s left knee confirmed the ACL tear, suffered on the final drive on Sunday. He’ll have surgery soon, costing Cincinnati its most versatile running back.

Green also will be out when the Bengals play at Baltimore (5-5) on Sunday with what amounts to their last chance to get back into the AFC North race. Green hurt his right hamstring on the Bengals’ first pass of the game.

Advertisement

BILLS: A dislocated left thumb isn’t expected to prevent LeSean McCoy from missing a game.

A person with direct knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press that the Buffalo Bills’ running back is expected to play against Jacksonville this weekend after having surgery for the injury.

DOLPHINS: Defensive end Jason Jones has been suspended without pay for two games for violating the NFL substance abuse policy.

BEARS: Linebacker Jerrell Freeman became the second Chicago player suspended for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy in as many weeks.

FALCONS: Atlanta signed right tackle Ryan Schraeder to a five-year contract extension.

WASHINGTON: As his team enters a critical stretch in its pursuit of a playoff berth, Coach Jay Gruden made clear how he feels about a schedule that takes his team to Dallas on Thanksgiving Day right after a Sunday night game.

“I don’t think it’s really fair, no,” Gruden said on a conference call with reporters.”

Copy the Story Link

Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.