Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Raachad White powered his way into the end zone from two yards out with six seconds left in the game to beat the Houston Texans 20-19.
After Houston scored a go-ahead touchdown with 2:10 left in the game, the Buccaneers orchestrated an 80-yard scoring drive in 2:04 to pull out the win and move to 2-0 for a fifth consecutive season.
Houston running back Nick Chubb got things going when he took a screen pass 27 yards to Tampa’s 29 yard line. On the very next play, wide receiver Nico Collins made a phenomenal toe-tapping touchdown catch to put the Texans on top 7-0 with less than five minutes taken off the clock. That was the first touchdown of Houston’s season after they kicked three field goals against the Los Angeles Rams. With that single reception, Collins surpassed his receiving yardage output from last Sunday (25 yards).
The Buccaneers responded with a nine-play, 65-yard touchdown drive of their own. It was third-year wideout Ryan Miller who made a 20-yard TD reception to tie things up at 7 points apiece. That was his first touchdown since Week 16 of last season.
Texans rookie running back Woody Marks also made an impact on this game. He finished with 51 scrimmage yards, including a 37-yard catch-and-run that resulted in a 35-yard field goal by Ka’imi Fairbairn, which allowed Houston to retake the lead, 10-7. Fairbairn has made 22 consecutive field goals from 30 to 39 yards out since the start of the 2022-23 season.
Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka continued to build on an already outstanding rookie campaign. He finished the game with four catches for 29 yards and a touchdown. His 15-yard catch-and-run into the end zone put Tampa back ahead 14-10 in the second quarter. Egbuka already has three receiving TDs in just two NFL starts.
After four straight scoring drives to open this game, things slowed down in the second quarter. Both Houston and Tampa recorded their first punts of the evening. The Buccaneers were forced to punt after Texans defensive end Danielle Hunter sacked Baker Mayfield for an eight-yard loss. With that takedown, Hunter became the seventh active player in the NFL with 100 career sacks.
Though Houston was driving just before halftime, their promising series was cut short after C.J. Stroud took an untimely eight-yard sack on a 2nd and 8, which moved Houston out of field goal range. Following an incompletion on the next play, the Texans punted the ball back to the Bucs with 30 seconds left in the quarter and two timeouts.
Thankfully for the H-Town faithful, Tampa Bay wasn’t able to do anything with that extra possession. So, the score remained 14-10 at the break.
The strong defensive performances from these squads resumed in the second half. Both teams recorded third-down sacks to force punts on the first two possessions of the third quarter. After four consecutive scoring drives to kick this game off, the Buccaneers and Texans combined for eight straight punts, not including the kneel-down C.J. Stroud took to end the second quarter.
The long scoring drought looked like it was going to come to an end late in the third quarter. Following a 22-yard catch by Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans, running back Rachaad White picked up 38 yards on four straight rushing attempts. The drive stalled at the 19 yard line, which led to the Bucs attempting a 38-yard field goal. However, kicker Chase McLaughlin hit the ball off the upright, so the score remained 14-10 heading into the final frame.
Near midfield, C.J. Stroud completed a 28-yard pass to rookie wideout Jayden Higgins, which got the Texans to Tampa’s 23. Two plays later, Stroud hooked up with tight end Dalton Schultz for 16 yards to give Houston a 1st and goal from the eight yard line. Eventually, the Texans were faced with a 4th and goal from the one yard line, but Stroud overthrew a pass to Nico Collins, resulting in a turnover on downs. Houston was a combined two for ten on third- and fourth-down attempts in this game.
One of the biggest plays of the game came about midway through the fourth quarter. After the Texans sacked Baker Mayfield on a third down, Houston blocked the Buccaneers’ punt on the very next play. That live ball was picked up by the Texans at Tampa’s 35 yard line. But Houston failed to pick up any yards, so they settled for a 53-yard field goal to make it 14-13 with 5:22 to go in the game.
After a quick three-and-out, the Texans made another big special teams play. Houston rookie wideout Jaylin Noel returned Tampa’s punt 53 yards to the Buccaneers’ 25 yard line, giving them a chance to take the lead for the first time since the first quarter.
This time around, Houston took advantage of the excellent starting field position. Two plays after the electric punt return, running back Nick Chubb took a handoff 25 yards to the house for a 19-14 lead after the Texans failed to convert the two-point conversion. He finished the game with 72 scrimmage yards and a rushing TD, his first since November 21st, 2024.
After a 12-yard pass to get to their own 32 yard line, the Buccaneers were left with 1:56 and three timeouts to win the game.
Facing a 4th and 10 from their own 32, a hobbled Baker Mayfield scrambled for 15 yards and a new set of downs to keep the drive alive. Two plays later, running back Bucky Irving took a dump-off pass 22 yards to Houston’s 22 yard line. Then, with nine seconds left in the game, Raachad White punched the ball into the end zone to secure the win.
With that loss, the Houston Texans fell to 0-2 for the first time since 2023, which was C.J. Stroud’s rookie season.
*Author’s note: all information and statistics are tracked in real time and are provided by the game’s broadcaster, NFL.com, and ESPN.com*
