Las Vegas Raiders vs Houston Texans Picks and Prediction for Thursday August 20 2026

By: Eddie Kline Published 08/17/2026, 08:58 PM ET

Raiders Preview

The week two NFL preseason will kick off on Thursday night, when the Las Vegas Raiders take on the Houston Texans from NRG Stadium. Get ready for all the football action with our NFL Picks. The Raiders (3-14) have just one winning season since 2017 and hired former Seattle OC Klint Kubiak to oversee an organizational turnaround. Las Vegas selected QB Fernando Mendoza with the number one overall draft pick and will give him time to develop behind veteran QB Kirk Cousins. The offensive line was upgraded during the offseason and second year RB Ashton Jeanty (975 rush yds) figures to pop. 

In their preseason opener, Las Vegas averaged 5.4 yards per rush and failed to score during the second half of a 27-14 home loss versus Arizona. Mendoza completed 10 of 16 passes for 97 yards and threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Jack Bech. Cousins added a 13-yard touchdown strike to Michael Mayer. 

Texans Preview

The Houston Texans have won ten plus games in each of the last three seasons and feature one of the most dominant defenses in the league. DE Danielle Hunter finished third in the league with 15 sacks and DE Will Anderson has registered 30 sacks in his first three seasons. For the Texans to become Super Bowl contenders, they need QB C.J. Stroud to regain the confidence he had in his rookie campaign. 

On Thursday, Houston was held scoreless over the final 48 plus minutes of a 27-7 home loss versus the Los Angeles Chargers. The Texans scored their only points on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Davis Mills to Jared Wayne. Houston was outgained 379-209 and committed ten penalties for 71 yards.

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Raiders vs Texans Pick

Houston WR Tank Dell (knee) did not play in the preseason opener and is listed as questionable for this contest. The Texans rested almost all of their starters last week, but that will not be the case in week two. Look for Houston to cause plenty of havoc on defense and bounce back with a victory at home. Final Score Prediction, Houston Texans win 24-14.

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