Raiders vs. Texans Prediction, Spread, NFL Preseason Picks – Thursday, August 20

Week 2 of the 2026 NFL preseason kicks off with a pair of contests on Thursday night, and the leadoff game features two teams that lost their openers when the Las Vegas Raiders and Houston Texans collide on ESPN.

Ahead of the 8 p.m. bout, Las Vegas and No. 1 overall NFL Draft selection QB Fernando Mendoza are slight favorites heading into Reliant Stadium in Houston. The Raiders return a 1.75x payout on PrizePicks Team Picks with an outright victory — can they get the job done in hostile territory? 

Below, we'll break down our Raiders vs. Texans prediction and picks for Thursday’s NFL preseason game, including the spread, over/under, and key player picks for PrizePicks.

Make your Raiders vs. Texans prediction and picks on PrizePicks now.

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Raiders vs. Texans Prediction, Spread, Over/Under for NFL Preseason – Thursday, August 20

The Raiders enter Thursday’s game as 1.5-point road favorites against the Texans, returning a 1.75x payout on PrizePicks Team Picks if they win outright.

Here are the full payouts for the Raiders vs. Texans NFL preseason game on PrizePicks.

Make your Raiders vs. Texans prediction on spread or over/under on PrizePicks Team Picks — available in 36 states!

Payouts show potential returns on correct Team Picks predictions. A 2x payout returns $200 on a $100 entry. Lower multipliers reflect outcomes users are picking as more likely. Payouts are live as of writing and subject to change.

Raiders vs. Texans Prediction on Over/Under for NFL Preseason – 8/20/26

Here are the key game stats and trends behind our Raiders vs. Texans prediction on the Over/Under for Thursday, August 20’s game. 

• The Raiders’ 27-14 loss to the Arizona Cardinals a week ago ended just below the finishing total of 41 points. Houston, meanwhile, managed to score just one time against the Los Angeles Chargers en route to a 34-point combined output, missing the over by 5 points. 
• The Texans are on a staggering 15-3 run to the under during the preseason, routinely falling short of lofty projected totals in their glorified exhibition games. 
• Intraconference preseason games with point totals at least this high have finished under that benchmark just under 70% of the time in the last decade. 
• Last preseason, these two franchises’ games averaged just 33.8 points, with both offenses ranking in the bottom five in the AFC in scoring output. 
• Las Vegas’ failure to score in the second half against Arizona highlighted how far its roster depth has to go before being adequate. Pair that with Houston’s inability to cap off drives vs. L.A., and you get a recipe for a potential slugfest. 

Lock in your Raiders vs. Texans prediction on PrizePicks before tonight’s NFL preseason game.

Raiders vs. Texans Picks, Player Stats for NFL Preseason on PrizePicks: 8/20/26

Here are the top Raiders vs. Texans picks to target on Thursday, August 20. Today’s NFL preseason picks for PrizePicks include QB Fernando Mendoza, WR Malik Benson, and QB Davis Mills. 

Raiders QB Fernando Mendoza vs. Texans: 113.5 Pass Yards

• Mendoza got significant experience playing against Houston’s stingy defense during joint practice this week and is expected to play plenty of snaps on Thursday. 
• In his unofficial debut against the Cardinals, the former Indiana standout completed 10 of 16 passes for 97 yards and a TD. 
• Although the Houston defense was downright dominant in 2025, it did take its foot off the gas a bit over time. According to SumerSports, it ceded the lowest EPA/play overall at -0.13 but allowed -0.08 when leading (seventh). 
• Per Pro Football Focus, Mendoza posted a 71.1% adjusted completion rate in his first preseason outing and had a 130.6 passer rating on short throws (0-9 yards from the line of scrimmage). That could be his ticket to success again here. 

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Raiders WR Malik Benson vs. Texans: 24.5 Rec Yards

• Benson was targeted four times vs. Arizona a week ago, hauling in a pair of passes for 26 yards in the process.
• Among all wideouts who matched or exceeded his target volume, Benson ranked 24th with a 2.0 yards per route run mark. He was also the only player to line up on the boundary for each snap. 
• The rookie receiver was extremely reliable during his final collegiate campaign with the Oregon Ducks, averaging 2.6 YPRR with a minuscule 2.3% drop rate.
• The sixth-round pick owned all areas of the field in his senior season, evidenced by 39% of his targets being in short range but 22.0% and 28.8% of balls thrown his way being in the intermediate (10-19 yards) and deep (20+ yards) depths. Thursday will be another good test to see if he can display that versatility at the next level. 

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Texans QB Davis Mills vs. Raiders: 63.5 Pass Yards

• With starter C.J. Stroud expected to log “roughly” 20-25 plays, Mills could still see the field quite a bit on Thursday. 
• Last year’s Raiders defense struggled immensely against opposing signal-callers, ranking 23rd in EPA/pass allowed at 0.08.
• Mills’ 6.3% big-time throw rate so far this month is his highest ever in a single preseason. 
• Per NFL Pro, no team allowed more target separation on average than the 2025 Raiders at 3.9 yards. 

Add Davis Mills to your PrizePicks Lineup now.

Make Raiders vs. Texans Picks for NFL Preseason on PrizePicks

The future appears to be bright with Mendoza in Las Vegas, but the present is the focus in Houston. With roster cuts looming for both organizations, which players will stand out and help lead their team to victory on Thursday night? 

Don’t wait until kickoff for more preseason football — make your Raiders vs. Texans picks on PrizePicks now and earn real money if you’re right.

Pick NFL players, predict More or Less on their stats, and cash in if you’re right. With Team Picks, you can make predictions on preseason NFL game winners, spreads, over/unders, and futures, now available in 36 states.

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