TAMPA,fla. - Baker Mayfield and Rachaad White spearheaded a late-game drive Monday night, lifting the Tampa Bay buccaneers to a 20-19 victory over the Houston Texans. Mayfield finished with 215 passing yards and two touchdowns, including a crucial 15-yard scramble on fourth-and-10 to sustain the game-winning posession.
The Texans (0-2) briefly took a 19-14 lead with 2:10 remaining on a 25-yard touchdown run by Nick Chubb, in his debut as a texan after seven seasons with the Browns. However, a subsequent two-point conversion attempt, a pass from C.J.Stroud, was thwarted by a sack.
Houston regained possession trailing by one point, benefiting from a Will Anderson sack on third down and a 53-yard punt return by Jaylin Noel, positioning them inside the Buccaneers’ 30-yard line.Chubb then scored his first touchdown as a Texan on a subsequent untouched run.
Stroud completed 207 passing yards and one touchdown, but the Texans offense struggled to maintain momentum throughout the second half.
A blocked punt recovered by Houston on the Tampa Bay 35-yard line with approximately six minutes left yielded only a 53-yard field goal by Ka’imi Fairbairn, narrowing the deficit to 14-13. Earlier,Chase McLaughlin missed a 38-yard field goal attempt for Tampa Bay late in the third quarter.
The Texans came up empty on a first-and-goal situation from the eight-yard line in the fourth quarter, with Nico Collins stopped short of the goal line and Stroud throwing two incomplete passes.
Tampa Bay initially responded to Houston’s opening touchdown – a 29-yard pass from Stroud to Collins, set up by a 27-yard screen pass to Chubb – with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Mayfield to Ryan Miller. Emeka Egbuka then added a 15-yard touchdown reception, becoming the sixth player since the merger to record three touchdown catches in his first two NFL games, giving the Buccaneers a 14-10 lead.
Texans defensive end Danielle Hunter registered two sacks and forced a fumble, bringing his career total to 101.5 sacks over ten seasons.
Tampa Bay offensive tackle Luke Goedeke exited the game in the first quarter with a foot injury, and defensive end Calijah Kancey sustained a pectoral muscle injury in the first half, sidelining him for the remainder of the contest.
The Buccaneers (2-0) will next host the New York Jets, while the Texans will travel to face the Jacksonville Jaguars, both on Sunday.
