Rachaad White’s 2-yard touchdown run with six seconds remaining capped an 11-play, 80-yard drive and lifted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers past the Houston Texans 20-19 at NRG Stadium on Monday Night Football, September 15, 2025. Baker Mayfield completed 25 of 38 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns and added a 15-yard scramble on fourth-and-10 that kept the winning drive alive. Tampa Bay moved to 2-0; Houston dropped to 0-2.
Nick Chubb 25-yd run (two-point pass conversion failed — Stroud sacked) — 2 plays, 26 yds, 0:50
HOU 19–14
4th
0:06
TB
Rachaad White 2-yd run (two-point pass conversion failed) — 11 plays, 80 yds, 2:04
TB 20–19
Team Stats
Stat
Tampa Bay
Houston
Total Yards
360
266
Total Plays
72
46
Yards Per Play
5.0
5.8
1st Downs
25
12
— Passing
12
7
— Rushing
9
3
— Penalty
4
2
Passing Yards (Net)
191
182
Comp / Att
25/38
13/24
Yards Per Pass Attempt
4.5
6.7
Interceptions
0
0
Sacks – Yards Lost
4–24
3–25
Rushing Yards
169
84
Rushing Attempts
30
19
Yards Per Rush
5.6
4.4
3rd Down Efficiency
6/14
2/9
4th Down Efficiency
1/1
0/1
Red Zone (Made/Att)
2/3
0/2
Penalties
7–45
6–45
Turnovers
0
0
Fumbles Lost
0
0
Time of Possession
37:09
22:51
Passing Stats
Baker Mayfield — Tampa Bay Buccaneers
C/ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
INT
SACKS
QBR
RTG
25/38
215
5.7
2
0
4–24
72.5
98.0
C.J. Stroud — Houston Texans
C/ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
INT
SACKS
QBR
RTG
13/24
207
8.6
1
0
3–25
20.2
97.0
Rushing Stats
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Player
CAR
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
Bucky Irving
17
71
4.2
0
10
Rachaad White
10
65
6.5
1
16
Baker Mayfield
3
33
11.0
0
16
Team
30
169
5.6
1
16
Houston Texans
Player
CAR
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
Nick Chubb
12
43
3.6
1
25
C.J. Stroud
4
27
6.8
0
19
Woody Marks
3
14
4.7
0
7
Team
19
84
4.4
1
25
Receiving Stats
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Player
REC
TGT
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
Mike Evans
5
11
56
11.2
0
22
Bucky Irving
6
6
50
8.3
0
22
Sterling Shepard
4
4
34
8.5
0
15
Emeka Egbuka
4
7
29
7.3
1
15
Cade Otton
3
4
25
8.3
0
12
Ryan Miller
1
1
20
20.0
1
20
Rachaad White
2
2
1
0.5
0
2
Payne Durham
0
1
—
—
0
—
Team
25
36
215
8.6
2
22
Houston Texans
Player
REC
TGT
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
Nico Collins
3
9
52
17.3
1
29
Woody Marks
1
1
37
37.0
0
37
Nick Chubb
2
2
29
14.5
0
27
Xavier Hutchinson
2
3
29
14.5
0
20
Dalton Schultz
3
4
29
9.7
0
16
Jayden Higgins
1
1
28
28.0
0
28
Justin Watson
1
2
3
3.0
0
3
Harrison Bryant
0
1
—
—
0
—
Team
13
23
207
15.9
1
37
Defensive Stats
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Player
POS
TOT
SOLO
SACKS
TFL
PD
QB HTS
Tykee Smith
S
6
4
1.0
2
0
1
Zyon McCollum
CB
5
4
0
0
0
0
Antoine Winfield Jr.
S
4
4
0
0
0
0
SirVocea Dennis
LB
4
4
0
1
0
1
Jamel Dean
CB
3
3
0
0
0
0
Vita Vea
DT
3
2
0
0
0
0
Kaevon Merriweather
S
3
2
0
0
0
0
Deion Jones
LB
2
2
0
0
0
0
Logan Hall
DE
2
2
0
0
0
0
Lavonte David
LB
2
1
0.5
0
1
1
Haason Reddick
LB
2
1
0
0
0
1
Yaya Diaby
DE
2
1
0
0
0
0
Greg Gaines
DT
1
1
1.0
1
0
1
Ryan Miller
WR
1
1
0
0
0
0
Christian Izien
S
1
1
0
0
0
0
Calijah Kancey
DE
1
1
0
1
0
0
John Bullock
LB
1
1
0
0
0
0
Jacob Parrish
CB
1
1
0
0
1
0
Josh Hayes
CB
1
0
0
0
0
0
Elijah Roberts
DE
1
0
0.5
0
0
1
Team
46
36
3.0
5
2
6
Houston Texans
Player
POS
TOT
SOLO
SACKS
TFL
PD
QB HTS
Henry To’oTo’o
LB
11
7
0
1
0
0
Azeez Al-Shaair
LB
10
8
0
0
1
0
C.J. Gardner-Johnson
S
6
6
0
0
0
1
Jalen Pitre
S
6
5
0
0
0
0
Kamari Lassiter
CB
5
4
0
0
0
0
Danielle Hunter
DE
5
3
2.0
2
0
1
Will Anderson Jr.
DE
4
3
1.0
1
0
1
Folorunso Fatukasi
DT
3
3
0
0
0
0
Derek Stingley Jr.
CB
3
3
0
0
2
0
Calen Bullock
S
3
3
0
0
0
0
Sheldon Rankins
DT
2
2
1.0
2
0
1
Dare Ogunbowale
RB
2
1
0
0
0
0
Tim Settle Jr.
DT
2
1
0
0
0
0
Jaylin Smith
CB
2
1
0
0
0
0
E.J. Speed
LB
1
1
0
0
0
0
Jake Hansen
LB
1
1
0
0
0
0
Christian Harris
LB
1
1
0
0
0
0
M.J. Stewart
CB
1
0
0
0
0
0
Derek Barnett
DE
0
0
0
0
0
2
Team
68
53
4.0
6
3
6
Special Teams
Field Goals and Extra Points
Player
Team
FG
PCT
LONG
XP
PTS
Ka’imi Fairbairn
HOU
2/2
100%
53
1/1
7
Chase McLaughlin
TB
0/1
0%
—
2/2
2
McLaughlin’s 38-yard attempt hit the right upright in the third quarter. Fairbairn made both of his attempts — 35 yards in the first quarter and 53 yards in the fourth.
Punting
Player
Team
NO
YDS
AVG
TB
In 20
LG
Riley Dixon
TB
5
253
50.6
1
0
60
Tommy Townsend
HOU
4
203
50.8
1
2
57
Jakob Johnson blocked one of Dixon’s five punts in the fourth quarter. Houston recovered at the Tampa Bay 35-yard line but settled for a field goal three plays later.
Punt Returns
Player
Team
NO
YDS
AVG
LG
TD
Jaylin Noel
HOU
3
67
22.3
53
0
Kameron Johnson
TB
1
6
6.0
6
0
Noel’s 53-yard return — the longest play on special teams in the game — put Houston inside the Tampa Bay 30 and directly preceded Chubb’s go-ahead score with 2:10 left.
Kick Returns
Player
Team
NO
YDS
AVG
LG
TD
Jaylin Noel
HOU
3
78
26.0
34
0
Tremon Smith
HOU
1
29
29.0
29
0
Kameron Johnson
TB
2
42
21.0
25
0
Sean Tucker
TB
1
26
26.0
26
0
Fumbles
Player
Team
FUM
LOST
REC
Baker Mayfield
TB
1
0
0
Rachaad White
TB
0
0
1
Danielle Hunter strip-sacked Mayfield in the fourth quarter. Rachaad White recovered at the Tampa Bay 45, preserving the possession.
Milestones
Danielle Hunter finished with 2 sacks and a forced fumble, pushing his career sack total to 101.5 — one of 46 players in NFL history to reach that mark
Baker Mayfield surpassed 25,000 career passing yards and tied Doug Williams for fifth on Tampa Bay’s all-time passing touchdown list at 73
Emeka Egbuka scored in each of his first two career games, becoming the sixth player since the AFL-NFL merger to do so
Nick Chubb scored his first touchdown as a Houston Texan — his 25-yard run came after seven seasons with the Cleveland Browns
Injuries
Player
Team
POS
Injury
Status
Luke Goedeke
TB
OT
Foot
Left in Q1, did not return
Calijah Kancey
TB
DE
Pectoral muscle
Left in first half, did not return
Rachaad White
TB
RB
Undisclosed
Left briefly, returned
Game Information
Venue
NRG Stadium, Houston, TX
Date
September 15, 2025 (Monday Night Football, Week 2)
Broadcast
ABC / ESPN
Attendance
71,580
Game Duration
2:56
Referee
Shawn Hochuli
Umpire
Larry Smith
Line Judge
Tim Podraza
Side Judge
Jim Quirk
Back Judge
Jimmy Russell
Down Judge
Patrick Holt
Field Judge
Jason Ledet
Houston ran 26 fewer plays, converted two of nine third downs, and finished with 94 fewer total yards. The Texans went scoreless from the second quarter through the third, held the lead with two minutes left, and still couldn’t close it out. Mayfield’s 33 rushing yards came almost entirely in the fourth quarter — 31 of them in the final drive alone. For the second straight week to open the 2025 season, he had the ball with a game to win and got it done.
Cornelia Lindqvist is a Swedish-American sports journalist with 4 years of experience covering professional athletics. She previously worked at Sports Illustrated before joining Newzire. Cornelia reports on the NFL, NBA, MLB, WNBA, international football, and cricket, covering game results, roster moves, trade deals, playoff standings, and player statistics. Her sports analysis background helps readers understand the strategies and numbers behind wins and losses.
