From January to September, the Bucs had to wait 238 days to play a football game that counted. That long wait ended last Sunday when they beat the Falcons, 23-20, to start off the 2025 season. So, it was maybe a tad cruel that Tampa Bay then had to wait an extra day before its next game, as Week 2 pitted the team against the Texans in Houston on Monday Night Football.

Coming into Monday night, one streak was going to have to come to an end – it was just a matter of which one. The Bucs came in having lost five straight primetime games, plus they’d never beaten the Texans in Houston. On the flip side, they hadn’t lost a Week 2 game since 2016, and they were a perfect 7-0 in Weeks 1 and 2 under Todd Bowles coming into this one.

It certainly couldn’t come easy, but the Bucs did manage to exorcise their primetime demons to keep their winning ways in Week 2 alive and get to 8-0 in Weeks 1 and 2 under Bowles. The scoring started early, but after Tampa Bay took a 14-10 lead, neither offense could get out of the mud for a while. A Texans field goal, some special teams failures from the Bucs and a late Nick Chubb touchdown run looked to give Houston a win in its home opener.

But then, Baker Mayfield happened. A 15-yard scramble on 4th & 10 highlighted what was an 11-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a 2-yard touchdown run by Rachaad White with six seconds to go. That gave the Bucs a 20-19 win, breaking their primetime losing streak and getting them to 2-0 ahead of their home opener against the Jets in Week 3.

Here’s a recap of all the action from Monday night’s wild primetime win at NRG Stadium in Houston:

Bucs 20, Texans 19

The Texans got the ball to start things off, and they quickly targeted linebacker SirVocea Dennis in pass coverage with great success. C.J. Stroud found Nick Chubb, who found a ton of space to pick up 27 yards to the Bucs’ 29-yard line. One play later, Stroud made a perfect pass to Nico Collins, who made a phenomenal catch for a 29-yard touchdown. Just like that, Houston was up 7-0.

Texans QB C.J. Stroud – Photo by: USA Today

The Bucs offense put together a quick response, with an early third-down conversion from Baker Mayfield to Mike Evans and a 12-yard pass from Mayfield to Cade Otton. Sterling Shepard later got in on the action with a 15-yard catch to the Houston 20 before Evans was called for offensive pass interference to set the drive back. Tampa Bay overcame the penalty, though, with Bucky Irving getting those 10 yards back before Mayfield found Ryan Miller for a 20-yard touchdown. With Chase McLaughlin’s PAT, the Bucs evened the game up at 7-7.

Houston worked its way right down the field again on its next possession, once again getting a big play out of the screen game as Woody Marks took a short pass 37 yards into Buccaneer territory. A Tytus Howard holding penalty gave Tampa Bay’s defense a break, though, as the drive stalled from there and the Texans had to settle for a 35-yard Ka’imi Fairbairn field goal. Still, the home team had 10 points in two drives after putting up six points last week, and that made for a 10-7 lead.

Mayfield and the Tampa Bay offense came right back again, though. A third-down conversion to Emeka Egbuka early in the drive kept things alive before the first quarter came to an end with some bad news. Not only did Houston hold a 10-7 lead, but right tackle Luke Goedeke was also ruled out for the remainder of the game after his foot injury flared up and sent him to the locker room.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

The Buccaneer drive continued as the second quarter got underway, with Bucky Irving fighting for some tough yards and Mayfield converting a third-and-short with his legs. Later in the drive, Mayfield came through on third down again, this time on a beautifully executed screen to Egbuka, who got a block and took it the rest of the way for a 15-yard touchdown. With that 14-play, 77-yard drive that took 8:44 off the clock, the visitors took their first lead of the night at 14-10.

The Texans and Bucs traded punts the rest of the quarter, with a Greg Gaines sack thwarting Houston’s attempt to get some points and potentially a lead before halftime. That left Tampa Bay with a 14-10 lead heading into the locker room.

Mayfield and the offense couldn’t add to the lead out of halftime, and with Calijah Kancey ruled out for the remainder of the game with a pectoral injury, it felt like the tide was turning in the Texans’ favor. A 16-yard catch by Nico Collins got the drive going, seemingly putting the Bucs defense on its heels. But on an eventual 3rd & 2, Tykee Smith came flying in on a blitz to run over Dare Ogunbowale and get to Stroud for a crucial sack, forcing another punt.

The Bucs were forced into another punt on their next possession, but they kept the pressure on Stroud on the next Houston drive before another third-down sack – this one split by 14-year veteran Lavonte David and rookie Elijah Roberts – kept the 14-10 lead intact.

Bucs OLB Yaya Diaby and Texans QB C.J. Stroud – Photo by: Jeffrey Jones/PR

A 22-yard pass from Mayfield to Evans got the ensuing possession going, then Rachaad White took over with runs of 12, 9 and 16 yards to get the Bucs back in the red zone. The drive stalled out there, though, forcing a Chase McLaughlin field goal try. After a missed 44-yarder and a missed PAT last week, McLaughlin’s struggles continued as he doinked a 38-yard attempt off the upright to keep the game at 14-10 with 1:01 to go in the third quarter.

Houston started moving the ball down the field late in the third and into the fourth quarter, with a big 28-yard completion from Stroud to Jayden Higgins and a key 3rd-&-11 conversion from Stroud to Dalton Schultz setting up 1st & Goal. But after a completion to Collins got the Texans to the 1, Nick Chubb was stuffed on second down. Stroud then threw incomplete for Collins on third down, bringing up a huge 4th & Goal. And on that fourth down, Stroud couldn’t connect with Collins again, turning it over on downs and giving the Bucs a huge stand at the goal line.

Tampa Bay’s offense then took the field in its own end zone, needing to kill some clock and preferably get some points. The drive got going thanks to a facemask penalty on the defense, then Mayfield came through with a huge 16-yard scramble on 3rd & 10 to keep the drive alive.

But Mayfield soon lost the football on another third down, and while Rachaad White managed to fall on it, he took a helmet to the ribs. Of course, that also meant fourth down and another Riley Dixon punt. Only this time, the Texans got to Dixon and blocked the punt, setting their offense up at the 35 with a chance to take a late lead.

Tampa Bay’s defense responded with a massive stop, though, with the only downside being an easy interception that Lavonte David dropped on third down. That left Ka’imi Fairbairn with a chance to get Houston within 14-13, and he did just that, connecting from 53 yards out to make it a one-point game with 5:22 left.

The Buccaneer offense remained stagnant on their next possession, and that set up the sequence that turned the game in the Texans’ favor. Dixon got the punt off this time, but Jaylin Noel returned it 53 yards – benefitting from some possible holds – to set up a go-ahead 25-yard touchdown run by Nick Chubb.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

But the Bucs offense, despite being stuck in neutral for the entire second half, made the most of one final chance. The key play came on a quick 4th & 10, as Baker Mayfield escaped the pocket and scrambled for 15 yards and a first down. From there, Mayfield found Cade Otton for an 8-yard gain. Then, it was Bucky Irving catching a short pass and taking it 22 yards to the Texans’ 23-yard line.

Irving caught another pass on the next play to get inside the red zone, then Mike Evans got in on the action with an 11-yard catch to the 7. Otton then hauled in a 5-yard pass to set up a goal-to-go situation with just under 10 seconds to play. And on 2nd & Goal, Rachaad White punched it in from 2 yards out to give Tampa Bay an improbable 20-19 lead.

All it took was a kickoff and a John Bullock tackle from there and the Bucs escaped NRG Stadium with a huge 20-19 victory.

Baker Mayfield finished the night 25-of-38 for 215 yards and two touchdowns, and he was once again a difference-maker on the ground with 33 rushing yards on three carries. Emeka Egbuka caught his third touchdown in two games, and Mike Evans led Tampa Bay receivers with 56 yards on five catches.

The Bucs backfield coming to life made the difference for the offense in this one, though. With the offensive line down to only Cody Mauch in his normal position after the injury to Luke Goedeke, Bucky Irving and Rachaad White continued to get tough yards. Irving ran for 71 yards on 17 carries (4.2 avg.) while catching six passes for 50 yards, and White ran 10 times for 65 yards (6.5 avg.) and scored the game-winning touchdown with six seconds to go.

The Buccaneer defense held C.J. Stroud to a 13-of-24 mark for 207 yards and a touchdown, and the unit was much improved on third downs. Houston was only 2-of-9 on third downs after Atlanta went 6-of-15 last week. Sacks from Greg Gaines and Tykee Smith, as well as a sack split between Lavonte David and Elijah Roberts, were crucial in the victory.

The Bucs (2-0) will now return home in Week 3 for their home opener, and they’ll be wearing their 1976 throwback uniforms as the New York Jets (0-2) come to town. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m.