Tampa Bay Buccaneers Rally Past Houston

by Jake Lax, September 17, 2025

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers entered Monday Night Football coming off a week one road win in Atlanta, to face off against the reigning AFC South champion Houston Texans. The Texans entered the game 0-1 after losing on the road to the Los Angeles Rams. Monday night saw a lot of action from two of the league’s best teams. Monday night kicked off with the Texans offense taking the field, and they got straight to work. Houston’s quarterback C.J. Stroud was off to a hot start, finding Xavier Hutchinson for a 9-yard pass, and followed up with a handoff to running back Nick Chubb to convert on a 3rd and one. Stroud was then able to find Chubb on a short pass, and Chubb did the work, taking it 27 yards down to the Tampa Bay 29-yard line. The very next play, Stroud got his wide receiver one going with a 29-yard touchdown pass. Collins made a great catch, finding a way to stay in bounds, giving the Texans a great start and a 7-0 lead on the opening drive.

The Buccaneers’ offense then had a chance to respond, gaining momentum quickly with a short Rachaad White run. Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield found his veteran wide receiver for an 8-yard pass to keep the drive going. Mayfield was very successful through the air on the Tampa Bay opening drive, spreading the ball across the field, finding four different targets. After a 15-yard pass to Sterling Shepard and a 10-yard Bucky Irving run, the Buccaneers found themselves in the red zone. Tampa Bay capped off its drive with Mayfield finding second-year wide receiver Ryan Miller for a 20-yard touchdown catch that tied the game at seven apiece.

The first quarter action continued with a huge 37-yard pass from C.J. Stroud to running back Woody Marks. As the Texans worked their way into the red zone, they ultimately failed to convert into a touchdown, thanks to a holding penalty and red zone incompletions. Houston had to settle for a 35-yard field goal from their kicker, Ka’imi Fairbairn.

The Buccaneers offense then took the field down 7-10, and Mayfield got ready to deal. A couple of short passes and Bucky Irving runs got Tampa Bay down to midfield by the end of the first quarter. The running back duo of Bucky Irving and Rachaad White helped them all night, and this drive helped them get down to the 15-yard line. Baker found his rookie pass catcher, Emeka Egbuka, from 15 yards out for his second passing touchdown of the game and gave the Bucs a 14-10 lead. Following the Egbuka touchdown, the defenses finally showed signs of life. The Texans and the Buccaneers were both forced to punt on their final two drives to end the first half, ending the first half with the Bucs leading 14-10.

The third quarter saw much of the same, with both punters having a busy night. Tampa Bay’s punter Riley Dixon finished the game having 253 yards of punting, while Houston’s punter Tommy Townsend punted four times for a total of 203 yards. The only scoring opportunity came at the end of the third quarter as Tampa Bay worked its way down the field and ended up missing a 38-yard field goal that hit the right upright and bounced out.

Houston had the ball the start the fourth quarter, looking to take the lead. Following a run by Nick Chubb, Stroud completed back-to-back passes, one to tight end Dalton Schultz and a big 28-yard gain to rookie wide receiver Jayden Higgins. As the Texans inched closer to the goal line, they set up on a second and goal on the Tampa Bay one-yard line. Chubb was stuffed short, and an incompletion to Nico Collins left the Texans at fourth and one. Head coach DeMeco Ryans decided to roll the dice and go for the lead on fourth down. Stroud dropped back to pass and looked for Collins again, falling incomplete as the Texans turned it over on downs.

The Buccaneers took back over, trying to extend their lead. A false start and fumble slowed the drive, forcing Tampa Bay to punt. This time, Riley Dixon came out to punt and ended up getting the punt blocked, setting up Houston at the Tampa Bay 35-yard line. The Texans’ offense couldn’t get any yards, making them kick a 53-yard field goal, which Ka’imi Fairbairn hit to bring the score to 14-13. Tampa Bay got the ball back with five minutes left in the game. A big sack from Will Anderson on third and eight forced the Buccaneers into punting to give the Texans a chance to win it. As the Texans set up on the Tampa Bay 26, they went straight to the run game, which had been terrible all night. This time around, Nick Chubb broke a 25-yard touchdown run to give the Texans a 19-14 lead. Following the touchdown, Houston attempted a two-point conversion, which failed due to Stroud being sacked.

The Buccaneers had one last chance with two minutes left in the game. Baker Mayfield delivered, showing his toughness. He started the drive with a 12-yard pass to Bucky Irving and missed a couple of shots to his wide receivers. When it was time to come up clutch, Mayfield delivered on a fourth and ten, and Baker scrambled for 15 yards to extend the game. As the clock was ticking down, Tampa Bay found itself at midfield. Mayfield ended up completing five straight passes, getting the Bucs down to the two-yard line with nine seconds left. Rachaad White ended up taking in a 2-yard handoff for the game-winning touchdown, as the Buccaneers beat the Texans 20-19 in a thriller.

For the Buccaneers, Mayfield finished 25 for 38, throwing for 215 yards and 2 touchdowns. The running back duo of Irving and White rushed for 71 and 65 yards, respectively. As for Houston, Stroud went 13 for 24, throwing for 207 yards and a touchdown. The struggling running game had Nick Chubb rushing for only 43 yards and a touchdown. The Buccaneers improve to 2-0 on the season and will play the New York Jets on Sunday back in Tampa Bay. The Texans drop to 0-2 on the season and will head to Jacksonville to take on the Jaguars in an AFC South divisional game.