That made things difficult against an aggressive Houston defense that featured two edge rushers, Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter, who hit double digits in sacks last season. Mayfield was sacked four times and deal with a lot of pressure after Goedeke's departure but he completed 25 of 38 passes for 215 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Through two games in 2025, Mayfield has five touchdowns and has not been intercepted. He also added 33 yards on three scrambles against the Texans.
After allowing a game-opening touchdown drive for the second week in a row, Tampa Bay's defense clamped down for the majority of Monday night's contest. QB C.J. Stroud and the Houston offense were held to 266 total yards of offense, with Stroud completing 13 of 24 passes for 207 yards and one touchdown. For the second game in a row, neither the Buccaneers nor their opponents committed a turnover.
Playing in and starting his 200th career game, LB Lavonte David contributed a half-sack and a pass defensed on a key play in the fourth quarter. David joins Rondé Barber and Derrick Brooks as the only players in franchise history to play in and start at least 200 games. Second-year S Tykee Smith led the Buccaneers in tackles for the second straight game, with six, and also added his first career sack and two tackles for loss.
After a providing a winning edge in Week One against the Falcons, the Buccaneers' special teams struggled in Houston. In addition to the long punt return that set up Houston's go-ahead score, the Buccaneers also endured a 38-yard field goal try by Chase McLaughlin that bounced off the left upright and the team's first blocked punt since 2018. McLaughlin now has two field goal misses in two games in 2025, matching his total from both 2023 and 2024.
"I've got to see what happened on the blocked punt," said Bowles. "They got back there pretty good. It looked like it was a smorgasbord of people going back there. That cannot happen. That's inexcusable. And we've got to tackle the returner. We've really got to tackle the return. We have to have more guys going to the ball. That gave them field position for two scores and gave them two points."
The Buccaneers took a 14-10 lead into halftime after scoring touchdowns on each of their first two possessions. It was a relatively even first half, with the Buccaneers gaining 169 yards to 159 for the Texans. The first four possessions of the game went for scores but the last five ended in four punts and a kneel-down. After converting 50% of their third-down tries in the season-opening win in Atlanta, the Bucs were four for six in that situation in the first half.
The Buccaneers won the coin toss and deferred, meaning Houston got the ball first, with Noel taking the opening kickoff out to the Houston 36. After an incompletion and a short underneath pass to WR Xavier Hutchinson, the Texans faced a third-and-one. A second-effort run by Chubb got just enough for a first down, but the Bucs swarmed him on a first-down carry with LB SirVocea Dennis getting the two-yard tackle for loss. However, a screen pass to Chubb was a good call against a heavy pass rush and the back found a seam for a 27-yard gain to the Bucs' 29. Stroud then went over the top to Nico Collins and the wide receiver got two toes in for a game-opening score.
The Bucs started their first drive at their 35 after a kickoff touchback, and Mayfield was pressured into a throwaway on first down. After a four-yard Irving run, Evans ran an in-breaking route to the middle and Mayfield delivered the ball for a first down at the Bucs' 47. A deep shot to Egbuka came up short and was nearly intercepted, but TE Cade Otton got open over the middle for a 12-yard gain. Irving's six-yard run got it down to the Houston 35, and Mayfield scrambled before hitting WR Sterling Shepard for 15 more. An offensive pass interference flag against Evans was a 10-yard setback, but Irving got them back on a first-and-20 carry. On the next snap, Mayfield pulled the Bucs even with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Miller.
Another good kickoff return by Noel allowed Houston to start anew at its 34 and a Stroud scramble plus a penalty on Haason Reddick added up to seven yards. Two plays later, rookie RB Woody Marks took a swing pass and found open field up the left sideline for a gain of 37 yards to the Bucs' 18. Two plays later, an offensive holding call made it second-and-12 at the 20 and rookie CB Jacob Parrish's quick stop on WR Justin Watson put it a third-and-nine. Stroud looked to Watson again in the end zone on third down but it was incomplete so the Texans settled for Ka'imi Fairbairn's 35-yard field goal and a 10-7 lead.
WR Kam Johnson got leveled on the ensuing kickoff return and the Bucs had to start at their own 23. A quick out to Evans got six yards and Irving's second-down run added two. A quick pass to Egbuka was just enough to move the chains. Two snaps later, an illegal use of hands penalty on Houston created a first down at the Bucs' 44. An underneath throw to Irving got seven to put it just across midfield as the first quarter came to an end. The second quarter began with Irving get nine on a run and four on a swing pass. The second-year back got the ball back on second down and powered his way to within inches of a first down. Mayfield took a shotgun snap on third-and-one and had to scramble, just getting the ball across the line to gain. G Cody Mauch got too far downfield on the next snap, leading to a five-yard penalty, but an offside call on Houston gave it right back. White's first carry went for six yards and an end-around by Egbuka got the other four for a first down at the Houston 19. An incompletion and a run by Irving left the Bucs in a third-and-six, and the next play got that and more, as Egbuka took a screen pass out to the left and picked his way through the defense for a 15-yard score.
The Bucs' kickoff coverage was better on its third try, stopping Noel at the 22-yard line, and DL Calijah Kancey came flying into the backfield on first down to drop Chubb for a loss of two. However, outstanding pass protection on second down gave Stroud plenty of time to find Hutchinson for a first down at the Houston 40. Stroud scrambled on the next play but threw incomplete, and S Antoine Winfield Jr. sniffed out a screen to Chubb to keep it to a gain of two. The game's first punt followed a misfire by Stroud in the direction of TE Dalton Schultz. Tommy Townsend's punt was fair caught at the Bucs' 13.
White got the call in the backfield for the next drive and tallied 13 yards on consecutive runs up the middle. After a false start, Mayfield threw a screen to White but it didn't work, losing a yard. However, an illegal hands to the face call on the Texans erased a sack and made it first down at the Bucs' 25. Two plays later, a Danielle Hunter sack stood and the Bucs faced a third-and-16. Mayfield threw a tunnel screen to Egbuka that was well set-up but stopped nine yards short of the sticks. Riley Dixon's first punt of the game flipped the field and put Houston at its own 30.
Marks got seven yards up the middle to bring on the two-minute warning. A Stroud scramble after the break got the ball all the way to the Bucs' 44. Two plays later, an eight-yard sack by DL Greg Gaines put Houston into a third-and-14 and the Bucs used a timeout with 46 seconds left in the half. The Bucs sent a huge blitz on the next snap and Stroud was pressured into a throwaway. Townsend's punt went into the end zone for a touchback.