After a dramatic, down-to-the-wire, 23-20 victory over the Falcons in Atlanta to start off the 2025 season on Sunday, the 1-0 Bucs will have to be road warriors once again in Week 2 as they head to Houston to face the 0-1 Texans on Monday Night Football.
There’s a fascinating subplot to this Monday night game on the Tampa Bay side of things, as something will have to give. This is a team that was 0-5 in primetime last year, including the playoff loss to Washington on Sunday Night Football. Overall, the Bucs are 1-7 in primetime in the Baker Mayfield era.
But on the flip side, Tampa Bay is 8-3 in September games under Todd Bowles and has a perfect 7-0 record in Weeks 1 and 2 since he became the head coach ahead of the 2022 season. Not only that, but the Bucs haven’t lost a Week 2 game since 2016, meaning they’ve won eight straight Week 2 contests.
Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: USA Today
So, will the primetime woes continue ahead of the team’s return to Raymond James Stadium in Week 3? Or will Bowles and the Bucs be 2-0 for the fourth straight year and come back home next week with a chance to start 3-0 for the first time since 2005?
As for the Texans, they’ll be looking to avoid an 0-2 start after their season-opening loss to the Rams in Los Angeles. It’s sure to be a lively atmosphere at NRG Stadium with Tampa Bay in town for Houston’s home opener.
Before we dive further in our “What to Watch For” preview Saturday, here’s a general preview of Monday night’s matchup between the Bucs and Texans at NRG Stadium:
The Last Time…
The Bucs would like to forget the last meeting they had with the Texans, which was also their last trip to Houston. That came back in November of 2023, when then-rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud set a rookie record with 470 passing yards and five touchdowns as the Texans beat the Bucs 39-37 with a last-second touchdown.
Tampa Bay opened up a 20-10 third-quarter lead in that game, but the scoring was only just getting started. A 75-yard touchdown pass from Stroud to Noah Brown got Houston within 20-16, and after a Chase McLaughlin field goal made it 23-16, Houston got within 23-22 on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Stroud to Tank Dell.
A Stroud touchdown pass and a run for a two-point conversion would soon give the Texans a 30-23 lead early in the fourth quarter, only for the Bucs to respond with a six-play, 75-yard drive that ended in a 1-yard touchdown run by Rachaad White to make it 30-all.
Bucs RB Rachaad White – Photo by: USA Today
Former Bucs running back Dare Ogunbowale hit a 29-yard field goal in response to give the home team a 33-30 lead, but it looked like Baker Mayfield and Tampa Bay’s offense had done enough by the time they drove 61 yards in 10 plays to score the go-ahead touchdown – a 14-yard pass from Mayfield to Cade Otton – with 46 seconds to go. But the Bucs defense couldn’t protect that 37-33 lead, allowing Stroud and the Texans to go right down the field in 40 seconds before Stroud hit Dell for the game-winning 15-yard touchdown with six seconds left.
Stroud’s 30-of-42, 470-yard, five-touchdown afternoon stole the headlines, and rightfully so. Brown had six catches for 153 yards (25.5 avg.) and a touchdown, tight end Dalton Schultz finished with 10 catches for 130 yards (13.0 avg.) and a score and Dell caught six passes for 114 yards (19.0 avg.) and two touchdowns, including the game-winning score.
Mayfield threw two touchdowns to Cade Otton and Rachaad White ran for two scores, but even a 37-point afternoon wasn’t enough for Tampa Bay to get the win. At the time, that was the Bucs’ fourth straight loss, and it dropped them to 3-5 on the year.
Monday night will be the seventh meeting all-time between these two teams, with Houston having won the last five ever since Tampa Bay won the first-ever meeting in 2003. The Bucs have never beaten the Texans in Houston.
How The Bucs And Texans Are Trending
Vibes have to be high for the Bucs following their season-opening win over the Falcons in Atlanta. Tampa Bay certainly didn’t play its best game, but it still escaped Mercedes-Benz Stadium with a key divisional road win to open the season. That gives Todd Bowles and Co. an early leg up in the NFC South on their quest to a fifth straight division title. Carolina and New Orleans both lost their openers as well, so Tampa Bay sits alone atop the division at 1-0.
It’s always said that it’s better to learn lessons from a win than a loss, and the Bucs have plenty to learn from and improve upon in all three phases of the game heading into Monday night’s game in Houston. Offensively, they’ll want a faster start from Baker Mayfield and more out of Bucky Irving and the run game. The new-look offensive line in Tristan Wirfs‘ absence held up well in pass protection, but the unit as a whole needs to open up more running lanes for Irving, Rachaad White and Sean Tucker. Mayfield led the way in rushing in the team’s Week 1 win, with Irving held to 2.6 yards per carry over 14 attempts.
Bucs OLB Haason Reddick – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
On defense, the Bucs responded well after the Falcons’ opening-drive touchdown in Week 1 and even on the other long touchdown drive they allowed, 30 of those yards came from roughing the passer penalties rather than actual defensive breakdowns. Avoiding those costly penalties has to be a priority, but the bigger priority has to be getting off the field on third downs. Atlanta was 6-of-15 on third downs and 3-of-4 on fourth downs, so Tampa Bay needs to buckle down on the money downs and do a better job of getting after the quarterback. Of course, that’s something the defense needs to do anyway, and another sack from Haason Reddick as well as Yaya Diaby‘s first of the year would be huge in Houston.
Perhaps the biggest question mark for the Bucs after their season-opening win surprisingly comes at the kicker position. Chase McLaughlin had been as reliable as they come in 2023 and 2024, but he missed a 44-yard field goal and a crucial extra point attempt last week. Was that just a small one-week hiccup in a stadium that also saw Younghoe Koo doink an extra point in and miss a 44-yarder himself? Or will the kicking woes of yesteryear return for Tampa Bay? It’s a scary question for now, but it’s one that McLaughlin can quickly put an end to with a bounce-back night against the Texans.
While the Bucs’ season opener had plenty of sloppy play, it was a win. The same can’t be said for the Texans, who struggled out of the gates on offense and put up only three field goals in a 14-9 loss to the Rams in Los Angeles. This Houston team has won back-to-back AFC South championships under the leadership of head coach DeMeco Ryans and quarterback C.J. Stroud, but last Sunday was an ugly start in their quest for a three-peat.
Texans QB CJ Stroud – Photo by: USA Today
Stroud finished that game 19-of-27 for 188 yards and an interception, hitting eight different pass-catchers for completions over the course of the day only for tight end Cade Stover to lead the way in catches with four while rookie wide receiver Jayden Higgins had 32 yards to lead all Houston receivers. Stover was placed on injured reserve this week and starting center Jake Andrews has a high ankle sprain, so he may be in danger of missing Monday’s game, too. The only bit of optimism from the Texans offense in Week 1 was veteran running back Nick Chubb going for 60 yards on 13 carries (4.6 avg.). But a 2-of-9 day on third downs and only 265 total yards wasn’t the debut Houston’s offense was looking for in 2025.
Despite the slow offensive day, the Texans were still in their Week 1 matchup with the Rams thanks to their defense. Henry To’oTo’o, Will Anderson Jr. and Folorunso Fatukasi all had sacks in the game, while Danielle Hunter recovered a fumble for Houston’s only takeaway of the day. Ryans’ defense is expected to be the strength of this team after ranking in the top half of the league in just about every category last season. The pass rush, led by Anderson and Hunter, is likely to threaten Tampa Bay’s makeshift offensive line more than Atlanta did in Week 1.
The Texans need a win in this game to avoid starting 0-2, especially with an AFC South matchup looming in Week 3 as they head down to Jacksonville to face Liam Coen’s Jaguars.
Here’s how the Bucs and Texans stack up heading into Week 2:
Bucs Offense: 12th in scoring offense (23.0 PPG), 24th in total offense (260.0 yards per game), 22nd in passing offense (159.0 yards per game), 17th in rushing offense (101.0 yards per game)
Texans Offense: 30th in scoring offense (9.0 PPG), 23rd in total offense (265.0 yards per game), 24th in passing offense (151.0 yards per game), 13th in rushing offense (114.0 yards per game)
Bucs Defense: T-10th in scoring defense (20.0 points allowed per game), 23rd in total defense (358.0 yards allowed per game), 29th in passing defense (289.0 yards allowed per game), 7th in rushing defense (69.0 yards allowed per game)
Texans Defense: 7th in scoring defense (14.0 points allowed per game), 14th in total defense (296.0 yards allowed per game), 23rd in passing defense (224.0 yards allowed per game), 9th in rushing defense (72.0 yards allowed per game)
As of Thursday night, the Bucs are 2.5-point underdogs, with the Over/Under set at 42.5 (per Hard Rock Bet).
Bucs at Texans Game Information
When: Monday, September 15
Where: NRG Stadium (Houston, TX)
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN – Joe Buck (Play by Play), Troy Aikman (Analyst), Laura Rutledge & Lisa Salters (Reporters)
Bucs Radio: 98Rock – Gene Deckerhoff (Play by Play), Dave Moore (Color), T.J. Rives (Reporter)
Spanish Radio: 96.1 Caliente – Carlos Bohorquez (Play by Play), Martín Gramática (Analyst), Santiago Gramática (Reporter)