MEXICO CITY -- The Oakland Raiders, designated as the home team Monday night at Estadio Azteca, took awhile before giving their fans something to cheer.

Derek Carr threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes as the Raiders rallied for a 27-20 win over the Houston Texans.

After manhandling the Raiders (8-2) for the majority of the night, the Houston defense committed a pair of costly lapses on the game-tying and go-ahead scoring players.

Carr was absolutely clutch in the fourth quarter. A trendy Most Valuable Player candidate, he completed 21 of 31 passes for 295 yards, three touchdowns and one interception for a 117.0 passer rating.

"We weren't doing things the way we usually want to do things executing-wise, but there's never a doubt in anybody's mind that we'd come back and win the football game," Carr said.

On the first play from scrimmage after the Texans took a 20-13 lead early in the fourth quarter, Raiders fullback Jamize Olawale wasn't accounted for during a 75-yard touchdown catch out of the backfield. He eluded free safety Andre Hal to tie the score.

The Texans (6-4) looked confused by wide receiver Amari Cooper lining up in the backfield at running back as Olawale ran a seam route and Hal flubbed on his open-field tackle attempt.

Cooper put the Texans away on Oakland's ensuing possession as inside linebacker Benardrick McKinney over-pursued the gifted wide receiver during his 35-yard touchdown catch. Cooper scooted into the end zone with 4:43 remaining. The Raiders capitalized on a failed fourth-down run by Houston running back Akeem Hunt that was upheld by an instant-replay review.

"Oh man, you talk about winning games in the stretch, he put us in position to win the game," Raiders All-Pro defensive end Khalil Mack told ESPN. "And you've seen the pass to Olawale, you've seen the pass to the Latavius (Murray), he's playing great football."

Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler completed 26 of 39 passes for 243 yards and one touchdown with one interception. Houston running back Lamar Miller produced 104 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. The Texans ran for 124 yards, while Oakland managed just 30 yards on the ground.

The Texans were left steaming about a questionable call that cost them a touchdown. On the first drive of the game, Osweiler threw a short pass to DeAndre Hopkins, who took it for what appeared to be a 60-yard touchdown. However, the officials ruled that Hopkins stepped out of bounds at the Oakland 36-yard line, and the play wasn't reviewable as the whistle blew.

Houston wound up with a field goal on the drive.

"I considered challenging many plays today," Texans coach Bill O'Brien said. "Was Hopkins out of bounds on that play? No. I'm not going to sit up here and get fined. I'm just a third-year coach in the NFL, but I think we've really got to look at all those things. We've got all these cameras, and we can't get that right?

"Start there, and list all the things that I could have challenged."

Early in the game, Texans defensive end Jadeveon Clowney used the element of surprise to penetrate the Raiders' backfield.

It was a well-executed gambit from the former top overall pick as he and outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus switched sides and caught the Raiders' blockers off-guard.

As Clowney harassed Carr in the third quarter, the pressure triggered a hasty, deep throw that was intended for Cooper and intercepted by cornerback A.J. Bouye.

"It was an unusual alignment," Bouye said. "We just got to be ready for that. The coaches showed us that all week. It was good call against our defense. Kudos to them."

The contributions of Clowney, an oft-criticized and oft-injured former consensus All-American from South Carolina, led the charge for a resurgent Texans defense.

The key turnover spurred Houston to a 13-play, 65-yard drive that was capped by running back Lamar Miller's 1-yard touchdown run. The score gave the Texans a 17-10 lead midway through the third quarter.

Clowney recorded five solo tackles, including two for losses. Clowney kept pace with Mack, who has had a more successful NFL career than Clowney after being selected fifth overall three years ago in the same draft class as the Texans' converted outside linebacker. Mack had one sack and three tackles Monday night.

By halftime, the Raiders had gained just 81 yards of total offense and produced just five first downs. Unable to budge Clowney off the line of scrimmage at the point of attack, the Raiders rushed for a paltry 7 yards on 10 carries.

The Texans played some inspired defense, including a pair of goal-line stands where Clowney and the front seven kept the Raiders out of the end zone.

For a while, the Raiders looked out of answers against a stout Texans defense.

During the first half, Carr completed 10 of 15 passes for 74 yards and a touchdown.

The dominant ways of Clowney started immediately in the first quarter.

He stuffed Raiders rookie running back Jalen Richard in the backfield for a loss of 4 yards as the Raiders went three-and-out during their opening drive.

Following a fumbled kickoff lost by Texans rookie Tyler Ervin, the Texans' defense stiffened as they held the Raiders to a field goal.

However, the Oakland offense wouldn't remain stuck in neutral for the entire game.

Spurred by some sharp throws by Carr, the Raiders eventually overtook the Texans.

"We can't blame nobody but us," Clowney said. "Don't put the game in the refs' hands to take it from us. We should have taken the game.

"Man, I felt so confident about us winning the game. It just slipped away from us at the end and we lost it. Very tough, we should have won this game. We gave this away. It slipped out of our hands."

The Raiders finished the game with 327 yards of total offense and 14 first downs after gaining just 120 yards of total offense and nine first downs through three quarters.

NOTES: Texans OLB John Simon left the game due to a chest injury. ... Raiders QB Derek Carr has nine touchdowns and one interception combined in the fourth quarter and overtime this season.... Texans TE C.J. Fiedorowicz caught a game-high six passes for 82 yards. ... Raiders coach Jack Del Rio was impressed with the atmosphere at Estadio Azteca. "The fans really showed up," he said, according to CSN Bay Area. "We were excited to play here, and they were certainly fired up to watch an NFL game. ... It was a great environment to play in live. The fans came out, and they were terrific throughout the night."