CJ Stroud, Baker Mayfield
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CJ Stroud had a star-making performance the last time the Houston Texans played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
We often hear of young players having a ‘welcome to the NFL moment’ at some point early on in their careers, where an opponent gets the best of them or they learn the hard way that the National Football League is an entirely different beast than college football was. But every once in a while, the roles are reversed and it’s the young player putting the rest of the NFL on notice that he’s arrived. On November 5, 2023, that’s exactly what happened when rookie quarterback CJ Stroud and the Houston Texans faced the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
It wasn’t just that CJ Stroud led the upstart Texans to a win over an opponent that would go on to win their third straight division title. It was that Stroud obliterated rookie records and led Houston to a win in such dramatic and action-packed fashion that even Christopher Nolan would be blown away by the climax.
Stroud finished the game with a rookie-record 470 passing yards and five touchdown passes, including one to Tank Dell with just six seconds left on the clock that gave Houston a come-from-behind 39-37 win. With just one red zone dart — and the 29 completions that came before it — a star was officially born in the Lone Star State.
Buccaneers Haven’t Forgotten About Heartbreak in Houston
Even though it’s been nearly two full years since these two teams last shared the field, nobody who was on the Tampa Bay sideline has forgotten what the sting of that loss felt like. Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans, who grew up an hour outside of Houston, recently reflected on the loss that came in front of countless members of his family.
“I’m seeing all the (No.) 13 jerseys. I see some of my family in the crowd,” Evans said earlier this week. “We’re about to win this game and then it broke our heart … it hurt. That’s one of the worst losses I’ve had in my career. Hopefully we can get some payback.”
The Buccaneers can use this heartbreaking loss as fuel if they’d like, but playing with a little extra fire this Monday night likely isn’t going to be enough for Tampa to get one back on Houston. There are problems that the Texans pose on both sides of the ball that require attention. Quarterback Baker Mayfield is aware of the challenges a DeMeco Ryans’ defense creates.
“It starts with DeMeco Ryans,” Mayfield told team reporter Casey Phillips. “Just the type of guy he is, the type of leader, a guy who was a successful NFL linebacker– he’s going to demand that his guys play extremely hard, and that’s the one thing I remember. They fly to the ball… It presents a tough task for us, but we’ll see what we can do.”
On the other side, even though Houston’s offense is in a prolonged slump dating back to the 2024 season, Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles knows that the ingredients are there for the Texans offense to turn the corner.
“Very quick release, very strong arm, very accurate,” said Bowles. “He can run, he can see the blitzes coming, he can read coverages very well and he’s very accurate. When he gets to plant his feet and survey the field he can kill you,” Bowles said of Stroud before turning his attention to some of the Texans pass-catchers.
“With Nico (Collins), it’s size and speed, size and speed. He’s very athletic that way,” Bowles added. “(Christian) Kirk can get down the field. They drafted (Jayden) Higgins from Iowa State…they got two from Iowa State actually who can play well, very good-size receivers, very good hands. They can hurt you.”
In order for Houston to hurt Tampa Bay as they did two years ago, it will likely require a bounce back performance from Nico Collins after logging just 3 receptions for 25 yards against the Los Angeles Rams last week. Collins expects to be far more involved with the primetime lights shining down on him.
“Can’t get down on yourself if you’re not getting the ball,” Collins told reporters earlier in the week. “You have to continue to show up, continue to run great routes, have the right depth and right details. And continue to have fun. The ball is gonna come.”