Two years ago, the Bucs experienced a heartbreaking setback to the Houston Texans on a final-play touchdown. On Monday night, Mayfield and his offense flipped the script with a clutch final series.
Mayfield engineered an 11-play impressive possession that culminated with White diving into the pay dirt from close range with only six seconds on the clock. The Bucs came from behind to top the Houston by a final of twenty to nineteen. This finish stood in stark opposition to the teams’ last meeting in H-Town back in last year, when Stroud hit Tank Dell for a last-second TD to secure a thirty-nine to thirty-seven win.
“We expected a grueling battle, however we’re thrilled to end up on the right side this time,” Baker commented.
The former Heisman winner accumulated for 215 yards and multiple scores for the Tampa Bay, who improved to two and zero on the young campaign. His fifteen-yard dash on a do-or-die play kept the final offensive series alive.
“That represented a heck of performance of situational football,” Tampa Bay skipper the defensive-minded leader stated. “Our QB on the fourth-and-10, utilizing his mobility to get the new set of downs. It catapulted the entire drive from there.”
During the squad’s Week 1 matchup, the quarterback tossed a clutch touchdown strike to Egbuka with less than sixty seconds left to seal a narrow victory over Atlanta. He now joins the franchise legend (from four decades ago) as the exclusive Buccaneers QBs to begin a season with back-to-back game-winning series.
The home team (winless) appeared to have seized control when they secured a five-point edge on a twenty-five-yard TD run by the star running back with two minutes ten seconds to play. The home squad tried the extra points but Stroud was brought down. The second-year QB accumulated for two hundred seven yards and a TD but struggled to move the unit consistently for the majority of the latter portion.
“We missed multiple opportunities to close out this contest and we didn’t make the necessary executions essential to make,” Houston head coach Ryans commented.
Houston had registered the initial score of the match when they took an quick advantage on the receiver’s twenty-nine-yard touchdown catch. That score was setup when the QB connected with Chubb for a 27-yard gain on a screen pass the snap before. The Buccaneers evened the score at seven apiece when Mayfield delivered a medium-range touchdown throw to the receiver on their first drive.
The rookie caught a short score reception with around 10 minutes to go in the first half to give Tampa Bay in front 14-10. The first-round pick, a first-year player, became the latest player since the league merger with multiple touchdown grabs in his first couple of outings.
Houston was behind by four and had not put up points in the second half when Riley Dixon’s punt was blocked by the special teamer and the Texans pounced on the loose pigskin on the opposing 35-yard line with just under time winding down to go. The Texans were unable to advance the ball and settled for Fairbairn’s long kick that cut the deficit to one point with approximately time remaining to play.
Houston lineman Hunter caused a turnover and recorded two tackles for loss to give him to 101.5 in his 10-year professional journey.
Tampa are now perfect for the fifth year in succession, the most active string in the National Football League.
