After a sluggish first half, the Raiders rallied to beat the Texans on Thursday. It gave new head coach Klint Kubiak his first taste of victory with Las Vegas.

Despite the win, not everything went well — the Raiders were down 20-3 at halftime. Here are the positives and negatives from the second preseason game for Las Vegas.

Positives

Aidan O’Connell

The Raiders didn’t use Kirk Cousins, and Fernando Mendoza departed at halftime with a 20-3 deficit. That left third-string quarterback Aidan O’Connell to spend the entire second half digging out of a hole.

Aided by a second-half shutout of the Texans’ third-string offense, O’Connell led the Raiders on three touchdown drives in the second half. His final possession was the most impressive.

The Raiders got the ball at their own four-yard line with no timeouts and 1:37 to play. O’Connell ripped off six completions on the first seven plays of the drive for 96 yards. Then he plowed into the end zone on a quarterback sneak to give the Raiders the lead and the win.

O’Connell will only make the Raiders’ roster if general manager John Spytek decides to carry three quarterbacks or there is an injury to Cousins or Mendoza. Otherwise, the Raiders could look to trade O’Connell.

He likely won’t bring back a significant return, but it would be better than losing him for nothing after roster cuts are made.

Mike Washington

The Raiders have selected a running back in the last two drafts, trying to get youth in the backfield. With Ashton Jeanty sitting out Thursday’s preseason game, Mike Washington got plenty of chances to run.

The rookie back carried the ball nine times for 56 yards and dominated the snaps with the second-string offense. Washington has now ripped off two carries of over 30 yards in the preseason.

Washington is not going to take the starting job from Jeanty, but his solid performances in the preseason could lead to more playing time than expected for the rookie.

Dylan Laube

The Raiders’ third-string running back spot appears to be settled as well. Dylan Laube received a few carries to spell Washington with the second-stringers and then exited the game before Dare Ogunbowale saw a carry.

Just based on usage in the preseason, Laube has a sizable lead on Ogunbowale on the depth chart.

The Raiders brought in Ogunbowale during training camp as a potential threat to Laube’s roster spot. Laube has been buried on the Raiders’ depth chart the last two seasons, as he received just eight carries. He’s turned those limited chances into nine yards and lost fumbles.

But he has the edge for the third running back spot once again.

Patrick Johnson

The Raiders’ defender with the best Pro Football Focus grade from Thursday night was Patrick Johnson. The sixth-year edge rusher led the team with three quarterback pressures and three run stops. He had a sack and two tackles for loss.

However, Johnson probably won’t make the roster for Week 1. He is currently buried on the depth chart as the seventh defensive end. One preseason game against the Texans’ backups won’t likely change his standing.

Negatives

Malik Benson

Through training camp, rookie wide receiver Malik Benson was one of the brightest stars. He was constantly making plays, even rising to fourth on the depth chart. But in actual preseason games, he has struggled.

Benson has pulled in three of the nine targets thrown his way for 44 yards. He had a brutal third-down drop that turned an easy first down into a punt. He also had another pass in his hands before it was punched out by a defender for an incompletion.

The Raiders do not have good wide receivers, so moving up the depth chart doesn’t take much. But in two preseason games, Benson has not carried over his training camp success.

Kansei Matsuzawa

The Raiders were hoping to have a competition at kicker between veteran Matt Gay and rookie Kansei Matsuzawa. But it has been anything but a competition due to Matsuzawa’s struggles.

The rookie missed a 38-yard field goal in the first preseason game, and booted his only kickoff out of bounds. On Thursday, Matsuzawa missed two extra points. He has been a disaster.

Due to the International Player Pathway Program, the Raiders can still carry Matsuzawa on the practice squad without taking away a spot from another player. But at this point Matsuzawa might not even be worth it.

Penalties

The Raiders have committed a comical amount of penalties. Through two games, the Raiders have been flagged 17 times, while their opponents have committed seven penalties. Kubiak has not been pleased with either game’s lack of clean play or execution.

“Two weeks in a row. That’s on me as a coach,” Kubiak said after Thursday’s game. “I said the same thing last week, so I better figure it out real quick.”

Las Vegas has finished bottom half in penalties committed in each of the last three seasons, so this is a new problem. Notably, the Raiders’ offensive and defensive starters have played a total of one series each in the preseason. So once the better players dominate the playing time, maybe the flags will decrease.