Baker Mayfield, playing with what appeared to be an injured left leg, willed the Buccaneers to a come-from behind 20-19 victory over the Texans on Monday night.
The Bucs did what they do, starting 2-0 for a fifth consecutive season. The Texans fell to 0-2.
The Bucs scored touchdowns on their first two possessions as Mayfield hit Ryan Miller for a 20-yard touchdown and Emeka Egubka for a 15-yarder. They did not score again until only six seconds remained.
Tampa Bay faced a third-and-10 with 59 seconds left, and Mayfield ran for 15 to keep the drive alive. He completed 7-of-9 passes for 63 yards on the game-winning, 80-yard drive that took 11 plays and 2:04. Rachaad White had a 2-yard run for the deciding points.
Mayfield went 25-of-38 for 215 yards and two touchdowns, and he ran for 33 yards on three carries. Bucky Irving had 17 carries for 71 yards and White 10 carries for 65 yards as the Bucs ran for 169 yards on 30 carries, a 5.6-yard-per-carry average.
Mike Evans had five catches for 56 yards in his return home.
The Texans’ special teams nearly won them the game, and the Bucs’ special teams nearly lost them one.
Tampa Bay missed a 38-yard field goal, had a punt blocked and gave up a 53-yard punt return to set up Houston’s go-ahead touchdown late.
Jaylin Noel caught a Riley Dixon punt at the Houston 21 and returned it to the Tampa Bay 26 before Kaevon Merriweather saved a touchdown. Officials picked up a flag for a block in the back. Two plays later, Nick Chubb, who had only 18 yards on his first 11 carries, ran for a 25-yard touchdown with 2:10 remaining to give Houston its first lead since the initial drive of the game.
The Texans blocked a Riley Dixon punt with 6:16 remaining in the fourth quarter. Justin Watson returned it 1 yard to the Tampa Bay 35, but the Texans gained no yards on three plays and settled for a 53-yard Ka’imi Fairbairn field goal. That cut the Bucs’ lead to 14-13.
The block was the first allowed by the Bucs since 2018 when the Saints had one against them.
The Texans earlier failed to score on three plays from the 1-yard line after a 7-yard gain on a reception by Nico Collins on first down. They turned it over on downs with Chubb stopped for no gain and C.J. Stroud throwing back-to-back incompletions.
The Texans were outgained 266 to 360, with Stroud going 13-of-24 for 207 yards and a touchdown. He ran for 27 yards on four carries. Collins caught three passes for 52 yards and a touchdown.
