After being the talk of the league for the first two weeks of the season, the Houston Texans were brought back to earth.
The Texans (2-1) will be looking to bounce back from a thrashing by the Dallas Cowboys when they travel to the West Coast to visit the Oakland Raiders (1-2) on Sunday.
Houston had generated quite a buzz with an impressive season-opening victory over Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts followed by a stirring comeback on the road against the Washington Redskins.
With a chance to make a major statement at home against the previously winless Cowboys, the Texans fell flat on their faces, falling behind by three touchdowns in a one-sided rout.
Houston was dominated by Dallas on both sides of the ball, failing to get into the end zone until there was just 75 seconds left in the contest.
Quarterback Matt Schaub threw a pair of interceptions and was sacked four times, including one that forced Houston to kick a field goal after having a first-and-goal at the 1-yard line.
Oakland, meanwhile, absorbed a bitter 24-23 defeat at the Arizona Cardinals when kicker Sebastian Janikowski pushed a 32-yard field goal attempt wide left as time expired.
It was the third miss of the day for Janikowski, who also converted three field goals - including one from 54 yards.
Raiders quarterback Bruce Gradkowski, getting his first start after replacing Jason Campbell at halftime in Week 2, had his struggles against Arizona, finishing 17 of 34 for 255 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Darren McFadden had his second straight 100-yard game, carrying 25 times for 105 yards and a touchdown. And second-year wide receiver Louis Murphy had another strong game, catching five balls for 119 yards. Murphy has 15 receptions on the season.
Oakland wasted a stellar effort by its defense, which held Cardinals quarterback Derek Anderson to 122 yards passing and limited Arizona to 227 total yards.
Slowing the Texans figures to be considerably more difficult. Houston used a sledgehammer running game to grind down the Colts in Week 1, getting 231 yards rushing from Arian Foster.
The surprising Foster leads the league with 406 yards rushing, including 106 against the Cowboys.
The Texans had to go to the air after falling behind the Redskins in Week 2 and the result was 497 yards passing and three touchdowns by Schaub in a 30-27 victory.
The passing game could be slowed Sunday due to an ankle injury to star wideout Andre Johnson, who initially hurt the ankle against Washington.
Johnson aggravated the injury last week and finished with four receptions for 64 yards. He has not had much success in his last three matchups against Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, grabbing just five balls for 94 yards.
The Texans improved to 4-1 all-time against Oakland, getting a pair of touchdowns from running back Steve Slaton in a 29-6 victory last season.