Houston, We Have a "W", Bucs Rally For Amazing Win over Texans The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Houston Texans hooked up in a prime-time contest that looked like it would be a shootout before it became a defensive slugfest and finally turned into a showcase for yet more late-game heroics from Baker Mayfield. Mayfield guided the Buccaneers on an 11-play, 80-yard drive that ended in Rachaad White's two-yard touchdown run with six minutes left in regulation. That made Tampa Bay 20-19 winners and gave the franchise its first-ever regular-season win in the city of Houston. Previously, the Buccaneers had been 0-4 against the Oilers (now the Tennessee Titans) and 0-3 against the Texans in road contests. The Bucs have now won two straight games in the waning moments, and Head Coach Todd Bowles likes what that says about his squad, which is seeking a fifth straight division title. "Again, resiliency," said Bowles. "The chemistry these guys have, being around each other. We talk a lot about culture and culture helps you win ballgames, especially on the road." The first four drives of the game resulted in scores, as the Buccaneers took a 14-10 lead on Mayfield touchdown passes to rookie WR Emeka Egbuka and WR Ryan Miller. After that, neither team scored again until the Texans blocked a punt and capitalized with a 53-yard field goal by Ka'imi Fairbairn with five minutes left in regulation. That made the score 14-13, and Houston then took the lead on Nick Chubb's 25-yard touchdown run following a 53-yard punt return by rookie WR Jaylin Noel. "We knew we had to attack them to win the ballgame," said Bowles. "I thought (Offensive Coordinator Josh Grizzard) opened it up early and we did a heck of a job going down the field the first couple drives and not being complacent and learning from last week. I thought he did a heck of a job getting us up early and opening it up." After Chubb's score, the Bucs had just over two minutes left to answer. The drive nearly died before it began when the visitors faced a fourth-and-10 at their own 32, but Mayfield escaped the pocket and scrambled for 16 yards to keep the Bucs alive. RB Bucky Irving then turned a short pass into a 22-yard gain to the Houston 23 and a Mike Evans catch made it first-and-goal at the seven. The Bucs were armed with two timeouts after a Cade Otton catch took it down to the two with nine seconds to play, which emboldened Offensive Coordinator Josh Grizzard to call a handoff to White, who capped a strong game with the game-winning score. "We had another timeout," explained Bowles. "We were going to try to run the ball, and if we didn't get that we were going to call timeout and go from there, but it worked out for us." White, Irving and the Buccaneers' rushing attack may have been the difference in the game. Irving had 71 yards on 17 carries, White added 65 on 10 totes and Tampa Bay almost exactly doubled Houston's ground output, 169 yards to 84. Irving added 50 yards on six receptions. "I thought he did great, coming in and taking advantage of his opportunities," said Mayfield of White. "Physical running, really breaking some tackles and opening up the run game. A spark that we needed. We were kind of stalling out on offense and, yeah, I thought he did a great job." The Buccaneers improved to 2-0, marking the fifth straight season they have opened with consecutive wins. Houston fell to 0-2. The Bucs have a one-game lead in the NFC South over the 1-1 Atlanta Falcons, who beat the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night after losing to Tampa Bay in Week One. The Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints both fell to 0-2 with losses on Sunday. The Buccaneers played most of the game with four of their five offensive line spots occupied by players not expected to be there during the offseason. With All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs missing a second straight game after having arthroscopic knee surgery in July, the Bucs repeated their Week One alignment by moving center Graham Barton to left tackle and left guard Ben Bredeson to center. Veteran lineman Michael Jordan, elevated from the practice squad, started at left guard again. At the end of the first quarter, right tackle Luke Goedeke was lost for the remainder of the game after aggravating a foot injury suffered in last week's win in Atlanta. "Healthy O-Line or not, those guys are still damn good," said Mayfield. "It doesn't matter who you have out there. They're studs. I thought they did a good job, truly did. Those [Houston] guys are going to win their matchups every once in a while. That's just the way football works. They get paid, too. But, for the most part, they blocked when they needed to in critical moments and found a way to win. That made things difficult against an aggressive Houston defense that featured two edge rushers, Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter, who hit double digits in sacks last season. Mayfield was sacked four times and deal with a lot of pressure after Goedeke's departure but he completed 25 of 38 passes for 215 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Through two games in 2025, Mayfield has five touchdowns and has not been intercepted. He also added 33 yards on three scrambles against the Texans. After allowing a game-opening touchdown drive for the second week in a row, Tampa Bay's defense clamped down for the majority of Monday night's contest. QB C.J. Stroud and the Houston offense were held to 266 total yards of offense, with Stroud completing 13 of 24 passes for 207 yards and one touchdown. For the second game in a row, neither the Buccaneers nor their opponents committed a turnover. Playing in and starting his 200th career game, LB Lavonte David contributed a half-sack and a pass defensed on a key play in the fourth quarter. David joins Rondé Barber and Derrick Brooks as the only players in franchise history to play in and start at least 200 games. Second-year S Tykee Smith led the Buccaneers in tackles for the second straight game, with six, and also added his first career sack and two tackles for loss. After a providing a winning edge in Week One against the Falcons, the Buccaneers' special teams struggled in Houston. In addition to the long punt return that set up Houston's go-ahead score, the Buccaneers also endured a 38-yard field goal try by Chase McLaughlin that bounced off the left upright and the team's first blocked punt since 2018. McLaughlin now has two field goal misses in two games in 2025, matching his total from both 2023 and 2024. "I've got to see what happened on the blocked punt," said Bowles. "They got back there pretty good. It looked like it was a smorgasbord of people going back there. That cannot happen. That's inexcusable. And we've got to tackle the returner. We've really got to tackle the return. We have to have more guys going to the ball. That gave them field position for two scores and gave them two points." The Buccaneers took a 14-10 lead into halftime after scoring touchdowns on each of their first two possessions. It was a relatively even first half, with the Buccaneers gaining 169 yards to 159 for the Texans. The first four possessions of the game went for scores but the last five ended in four punts and a kneel-down. After converting 50% of their third-down tries in the season-opening win in Atlanta, the Bucs were four for six in that situation in the first half. The Buccaneers won the coin toss and deferred, meaning Houston got the ball first, with Noel taking the opening kickoff out to the Houston 36. After an incompletion and a short underneath pass to WR Xavier Hutchinson, the Texans faced a third-and-one. A second-effort run by Chubb got just enough for a first down, but the Bucs swarmed him on a first-down carry with LB SirVocea Dennis getting the two-yard tackle for loss. However, a screen pass to Chubb was a good call against a heavy pass rush and the back found a seam for a 27-yard gain to the Bucs' 29. Stroud then went over the top to Nico Collins and the wide receiver got two toes in for a game-opening score. The Bucs started their first drive at their 35 after a kickoff touchback, and Mayfield was pressured into a throwaway on first down. After a four-yard Irving run, Evans ran an in-breaking route to the middle and Mayfield delivered the ball for a first down at the Bucs' 47. A deep shot to Egbuka came up short and was nearly intercepted, but TE Cade Otton got open over the middle for a 12-yard gain. Irving's six-yard run got it down to the Houston 35, and Mayfield scrambled before hitting WR Sterling Shepard for 15 more. An offensive pass interference flag against Evans was a 10-yard setback, but Irving got them back on a first-and-20 carry. On the next snap, Mayfield pulled the Bucs even with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Miller. Another good kickoff return by Noel allowed Houston to start anew at its 34 and a Stroud scramble plus a penalty on Haason Reddick added up to seven yards. Two plays later, rookie RB Woody Marks took a swing pass and found open field up the left sideline for a gain of 37 yards to the Bucs' 18. Two plays later, an offensive holding call made it second-and-12 at the 20 and rookie CB Jacob Parrish's quick stop on WR Justin Watson put it a third-and-nine. Stroud looked to Watson again in the end zone on third down but it was incomplete so the Texans settled for Ka'imi Fairbairn's 35-yard field goal and a 10-7 lead. WR Kam Johnson got leveled on the ensuing kickoff return and the Bucs had to start at their own 23. A quick out to Evans got six yards and Irving's second-down run added two. A quick pass to Egbuka was just enough to move the chains. Two snaps later, an illegal use of hands penalty on Houston created a first down at the Bucs' 44. An underneath throw to Irving got seven to put it just across midfield as the first quarter came to an end. The second quarter began with Irving get nine on a run and four on a swing pass. The second-year back got the ball back on second down and powered his way to within inches of a first down. Mayfield took a shotgun snap on third-and-one and had to scramble, just getting the ball across the line to gain. G Cody Mauch got too far downfield on the next snap, leading to a five-yard penalty, but an offside call on Houston gave it right back. White's first carry went for six yards and an end-around by Egbuka got the other four for a first down at the Houston 19. An incompletion and a run by Irving left the Bucs in a third-and-six, and the next play got that and more, as Egbuka took a screen pass out to the left and picked his way through the defense for a 15-yard score. The Bucs' kickoff coverage was better on its third try, stopping Noel at the 22-yard line, and DL Calijah Kancey came flying into the backfield on first down to drop Chubb for a loss of two. However, outstanding pass protection on second down gave Stroud plenty of time to find Hutchinson for a first down at the Houston 40. Stroud scrambled on the next play but threw incomplete, and S Antoine Winfield Jr. sniffed out a screen to Chubb to keep it to a gain of two. The game's first punt followed a misfire by Stroud in the direction of TE Dalton Schultz. Tommy Townsend's punt was fair caught at the Bucs' 13. White got the call in the backfield for the next drive and tallied 13 yards on consecutive runs up the middle. After a false start, Mayfield threw a screen to White but it didn't work, losing a yard. However, an illegal hands to the face call on the Texans erased a sack and made it first down at the Bucs' 25. Two plays later, a Danielle Hunter sack stood and the Bucs faced a third-and-16. Mayfield threw a tunnel screen to Egbuka that was well set-up but stopped nine yards short of the sticks. Riley Dixon's first punt of the game flipped the field and put Houston at its own 30. Marks got seven yards up the middle to bring on the two-minute warning. A Stroud scramble after the break got the ball all the way to the Bucs' 44. Two plays later, an eight-yard sack by DL Greg Gaines put Houston into a third-and-14 and the Bucs used a timeout with 46 seconds left in the half. The Bucs sent a huge blitz on the next snap and Stroud was pressured into a throwaway. Townsend's punt went into the end zone for a touchback. Mayfield threw a nine-yard pass to Evans to start the next drive and the Bucs used their second timeout. After a pressured throwaway, Mayfield threw in Evans' direction on third down but it was incomplete. Dixon's punt rolled to a stop at the Houston 29 with two seconds left in the half and the Texans kneeled to end the half. The Bucs got the ball to start the second half, with Sean Tucker getting his kickoff return out to the 28. Two Irving runs between the tackles got nine yards and on a very long third-and-one Mayfield threw a quick slant to Shepard for five to keep the drive moving. The Bucs went into a hurry-up and Mayfield faked a handoff and threw quickly to Shepard for seven more. However, Irving's next run was met in the backfield for a loss of one and Mayfield's attempt to escape on third down didn't work as he was tripped up from behind, leading to a sack. Dixon's punt went into the end zone for a touchback. Stroud hit Collins for 16 yards on the second play of the next possession, but the Texans faced a third-and-two from their own 48 after a Stroud scramble. The Bucs brought a blitz and got home this time, with S Tykee Smith racing around the right edge for a nine-yard sack, forcing a punt. The resulting kick went out of bounds at the Bucs' eight. Irving got the ball on the next two downs and while he was bottled up for two yards on first down he fought for extra yards on the next snap and was able to push it over the first-down line. Moments later, the Bucs faced a third-and-eight. Mayfield looked to Evans at the sticks but Derek Stingley Jr. got a hand in the way to knock it down. A good tackle by S Christian Izien on Dixon's next punt put Houston at its own 33 with six minutes left in the third quarter. CB Zyon McCollum stopped Marks after a gain of three and OLB Yaya Diaby chased Stroud into a second-down throwaway. On third down, David came on a late blitz and met rookie DL Elijah Roberts at the quarterback for an eight-yard sack. Townsend's 57-yard punt and Kam Johnson's six-yard return gave it back to the Bucs at their own 21. Mayfield and Evans got the next drive off to a good start by hooking up on a deep shot down the right sideline for a gain of 22. After another shot on the opposite sideline to Evans was incomplete, White barreled up the middle twice for 12 and nine yards. On third-and-one, White broke free again and might have scored if LB Azeez Al-Shaair hadn't made a shoestring tackle at the end of a 16-yard jaunt to the Houston 20. They faced a third-and-nine moments later, and a pass to Evans in the end zone was incomplete. The Bucs sent Chase McLaughlin out to try a 38-yard field and he banged it off the left upright to keep the score at 14-10. Houston thus took over at its own 28 and Chubb got seven yards off right guard to start the drive. An illegal-contact call on CB Benjamin Morris gave Houston a first down and Schultz made a tackle-evading move on a catch to get nine yards to end the third quarter. To start the fourth period, Stroud faked a handoff, rolled right and found rookie WR Jayden Higgins wide open for a gain of 28 to the Bucs' 23. Smith dropped Chubb for a loss of one and Parrish broke up a pass meant for Collins to make it third-and-11. Stroud kept the drive going with a 16-yard strike to Schultz down to the Bucs' eight. A quick slant to Collins got it to the one, but DL Vita Vea stopped Chubb for no gain on second-and-goal. A shot to Collins in the end zone was incomplete but the Texans went for it on fourth-and-goal. Stroud took a shotgun snap and rolled left but his pass in Collins' direction was also incomplete and the Bucs took over on downs. A facemask penalty two plays into the next drive got the Bucs away from their end zone but the Bucs faced a third-and-10 not long later. Mayfield took care of that by scrambling for 16 yards. An illegal contact penalty gave the Bucs another first down at their 41, but a false start made it first-and-15, and Irving followed with a hard-hitting five-yard run. After a quick pass against the blitz to Shepard for seven yards, Mayfield started scrambling on third down but had the ball knocked out of his hands. White managed to jump on the loose ball, though he took a hard hit in the process. The Bucs had to punt and it was blocked, giving Houston possession at Tampa Bay's 35. Tampa Bay's defense came up with a big stop, with Winfield stopping Chubb for no gain on first down and David nearly picking off a pass on third-and-10. Fairbairn came on to make it a one-point game with a 53-yard field goal. Another touchback took the ball out to the Bucs' 35. The drive was short-lived. On third-and-eight, Mayfield had almost no time to survey the field before getting sacked by Will Anderson for a loss of eight. Noel got free on the ensuing punt return and ran 53 yards to the Bucs' 26. Two plays later, Chubb broke free for a 25-yard touchdown run. Houston went for two after the score and failed when LB Deion Jones dropped him for an uncredited sack with 2:10 left in regulation. A penalty on the kickoff return forced the Bucs to start at their own 20 with 2:04 left. The drive got off with a 12-yard screen to Irving that brought on the two-minute warning. After a pair of incompletions on near-misses to Evans and Egbuka made it fourth-and-10, Mayfield kept the Bucs alive with a gritty 15-yard scramble to the Bucs' 47. Two plays later, Irving broke multiple tackles to get 22 yards to the Houston 23 and the Bucs used their first timeout with 42 seconds left. A sideline pass to Irving got five more and he got out of bounds at the 34-second mark. A pass over the middle to Evans got it to the seven, and a sideline pass to Otton moved it to the two with nine seconds to play. With two timeouts in play, the Bucs had the option to run the ball and used it, handing it to White who powered in for the go-ahead score. The two-point conversion failed. Houston's return on the ensuing kickoff ate up the last six seconds of the game clock. Scott Smith, Buccaneers.com, published 16 September 2025