Two years ago, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to the Houston Texans on a touchdown in the final seconds.
On Monday night, Baker Mayfield and the Bucs were the ones to deliver a knockout blow as the clock neared zero.
Mayfield led an 11-play, 80-yard drive capped by Rachaad White’s 2-yard touchdown run with 6 seconds left, and Tampa Bay rallied past the Houston Texans, 20-19.
In the Bucs' last visit to Houston in 2023, C.J. Stroud connected with Tank Dell for a TD with 6 seconds to go to give the Texans a 39-37 win.
“We expected a hard-fought battle, but it’s nice to be on this side of it this time,” Mayfield said.
Receiver Mike Evans, who grew up about an hour from NRG Stadium in Galveston, Texas, called that defeat heartbreaking this week and said the Bucs were looking for payback.
“We got the much-needed win in a hostile environment,” Evans said. “Everybody was calm. We practice two-minute situations religiously, and it was great for our preparation to come full circle tonight.”
Mayfield threw for 215 yards and two touchdowns for the Bucs (2-0), and his 15-yard scramble on fourth-and-10 kept the game-winning drive going.
“That was a heck of a job of situational football,” coach Todd Bowles said. “Baker on the fourth-and-10, using his legs to get the first down. That kind of catapulted everything from there. They did a heck of a job finishing.”
In the Bucs' opener on Sept. 7, Mayfield threw a touchdown pass to Emeka Egbuka with 59 seconds left to give his team a 23-20 win over Atlanta. He joins Doug Williams (1980) as the only Tampa Bay quarterbacks to open a season with consecutive game-winning drives.
The Texans (0-2) took a 19-14 lead on a 25-yard TD run by Nick Chubb with 2:10 left. Houston went for a 2-point conversion but Stroud was sacked.
Trailing by one, the Texans got a quick stop thanks to a sack by Will Anderson on third down. Rookie Jaylin Noel returned the punt 53 yards to get Houston inside the 30.
Two plays later, Chubb slipped through the line and dashed into the end zone untouched for his first touchdown as a Texan after spending his first seven seasons with the Browns.
Stroud threw for 207 yards and a touchdown but failed to move the offense effectively for much of the second half.
“You can make a bunch of excuses but we’re just not getting it done and at the end of the day that’s all that matters,” he said.
Houston trailed by four and hadn’t scored in the second half when Riley Dixon’s punt was blocked by Jakob Johnson and the Texans recovered on the Tampa Bay 35 with about 6½ minutes to go. The Texans failed to move the ball and settled for Ka'imi Fairbairn's 53-yard field goal that cut the lead to 14-13 with just over five minutes left.
Tampa Bay had a chance to pad the lead late in the third period after both teams struggled offensively after halftime. But Chase McLaughlin’s 38-yard field-goal attempt bounced off the right upright.
Houston had first-and-goal at the 8 early in the fourth quarter and Nico Collins was stopped a yard short of the goal line on a first-down catch. Chubb was stuffed for no gain and Stroud threw incompletions intended for Collins on the next two plays to leave the Texans empty-handed.
“We had multiple opportunities to win that game and we didn’t make the plays we needed to make,” Houston coach DeMeco Ryans said.
Houston took an early lead on Collins' 29-yard TD catch. That score was set up when Stroud connected with Chubb for a 27-yard gain on a screen pass the play before.
The Bucs tied it at 7-all when Mayfield threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Miller on their first possession.
Egbuka had a 15-yard TD catch with about 10 minutes left in the first half to put Tampa Bay up 14-10. Egbuka, a rookie first-round draft pick, became the sixth player since the merger with three TD catches in his first two games.
Texans defensive end Danielle Hunter forced a fumble and had two sacks to give him 101½ in his 10-year career.
The Buccaneers finished with 169 yards rushing to just 84 by the Texans. Bucky Irving led the way with 71 yards and White added 65. Mayfield had 33 yards rushing, with 31 coming in the fourth quarter.
Tampa Bay right tackle Luke Goedeke left in the first quarter with a foot injury, and defensive lineman Calijah Kancey injured a pectoral muscle in the first half.
Next for Tampa Bay is the home opener this Sunday against the New York Jets at Raymond James Stadium. As part of the Bucs' 50th anniversary celebration, they will wear their 1976 white "Creamsicle" jerseys.
