Baker Mayfield leads late drive as Buccaneers stun Texans - ESPN
HOUSTON — For the second straight week, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield engineered a game-winning touchdown drive with two minutes to go, delivering on his vow for «more wins» in 2025 as the Bucs beat the Houston Texans 20-19 on Monday.
With 1:32 left in the game, Mayfield was flushed from the pocket and could not connect with rookie wideout Emeka Egbuka on third-and-10. On fourth down and the game on the line, Mayfield scrambled to pick up the first down.
Then, after five straight completions — including running back Bucky Irving taking two short passes 22 and 18 yards, respectively — running back Rachaad White ran 2 yards up the middle for the winning score.
The Texans needed their defense to come up with a stop after taking a 19-14 lead with 2:10 left in the game after Nick Chubb punched in a 25-yard run, but Mayfield got his first prime-time win in the regular season with the Buccaneers. Before Monday, Mayfield had gone 0-6 during the regular season with the Bucs in prime time.
Here are the most important things to know from Monday night for both teams:
QB performance: Already playing without All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs, the Bucs lost starting right tackle Luke Goedeke in the first quarter because of a foot injury. Despite that, and facing two of the best pass rushers in the league, Mayfield looked sharp, often taking the easier completion — which he didn't do last week. He completed 25 of 38 passes for 215 yards and touchdowns to Egbuka and Ryan Miller. Mayfield got a much bigger boost from the ground game this week, too, as Irving rushed for 71 yards and White added 65.
Surprising trend: For the second straight week, the Bucs' defense surrendered an explosive touchdown on the opening drive.