Depleted Texans Host Fiery Buccaneers for a Week 2 Showdown
On Monday, September 15th, the 1-0 Tampa Bay Buccaneers will face the 0-1 Houston Texans at NRG Stadium at 7 pm. The Bucs, still likely without wide receiver Chris Godwin, are coming in hot after a heated game with NFC South rivals the Atlanta Falcons. This game saw the outbreak of rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, alongside second-year running back Bucky Irving, bring in three touchdowns: two for Egbuka and one for Irving.
Defense:
The Texans' defense, ranked the 3rd best defensive front, is expected to put lots of pressure on Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield, with defensive ends Will Anderson Jr (11 sacks) and Danielle Hunter (12 sacks) putting up a total of 23 sacks last season. It’ll be interesting to see how they come up against Mayfield's offensive line, which is ranked 6th best in the league. With offensive lineman Tristin Wirfs still out with a knee injury, it may be an easier matchup for Anderson Jr and Hunter to find breakaway points within the guard and add a couple more sacks to their high records.
Offense:
Although the Texans have a well-rounded pass-block style defense, they might not be shining so bright on the offensive side. Quarterback CJ Stroud is coming out of a disappointing 2024 season, only completing 336 of 532 passing attempts for 2063 in-air yards. After last week's game against the Rams, it seems Stroud may be in for a similar season, completing 19 of 27 passes for 154 in-air yards.
In comparison, Bucs QB Baker Mayfield completed 407 of 570 passes for 2061 in-air yards in the 2024 season. Although this means he had fewer yards than Stroud, Mayfield specializes in short to medium-length passes while moving outside the pocket. This may lead to a problem for the Texans' defensive front. While they have a high sack rate, Mayfield has explosive footwork outside the pocket and is highly capable of making short passes while under pressure.
Aside from the quarterback comparison, the Houston Texans are still down star running back Joe Mixon for at least a couple more games. Mixon has been placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list (PUP), meaning he cannot be activated before week 5 of the main season. “The Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan M. Alexander noted that neither Ryans nor Texans general manager Nick Caserio would elaborate on Mixon’s ailment or timeline, nor does he expect them to be any more forthcoming until Mixon returns,” says Josh Bulkhalter of Heavy. Replacing Mixon as the leader of the Texans' offense is running back Nick Chubb. Chubb attempted 13 rushing attempts for 60 yards during last week's game against the Rams. Despite what may seem like a strong start to the new RB1, fear circulates about Chubb’s history with injuries, which have caused him to play “10 games total over the past two seasons (2023-2024)” (Shea).
Similarly, on the Bucs' end, star wide receiver Chris Godwin is still expected out for a couple of more games, but this has proved to be not as severe an issue for the team. With Mike Evans and Emeka Egbuka ripping through the field still, the Bucs still have a potent offense and wide receivers capable of finding openings in the tightest of offenses.
Prediction:
Although it may end up being another tight game, such as last week's between the Bucs and Falcons, the Bucs should overcome the Texans’ defense for a low-scoring victory.