Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Houston Texans Prediction – 9/15/2025
The Houston Texans will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 2 of the NFL season. This is the first game of a Monday Night Football doubleheader and it features two teams that made the playoffs a season ago. Tampa is fresh off a dramatic finish in Week 1 and Houston is looking to bounce back from a defeat in the opening week of the season. Here, I take a look at both teams and bring you my Buccaneers vs Texans prediction for this inter-conference matchup in the NFL.
Our Buccaneers vs Texans Pick
- Pick: Under 44.5
- Confidence: 4/5
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Game Snapshot
- Matchup: Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Houston Texans
- Date & Time: Monday, September 15, 7:00 PM ET
- Venue: NRG Stadium, Houston, TX
- Broadcast: ABC/ESPN
Key Storylines
- The Buccaneers showed some heart in their 23-20 win over the Atlanta Falcons. Tampa fell behind by a field goal late in the fourth quarter and managed to march down the field to steal the lead late. They benefited from a missed field goal from Younghoe Koo in the final seconds to secure the win and have a chance to go to 2-0 with a road win in this contest.
- Houston lost 14-9 to the Los Angeles Rams in their first game of the season. The Texans struggled to move the football in that game with just 265 total yards as a team. Their offense will need to better both through the air and on the ground to avoid an 0-2 start.
- Injuries could play a huge role in this game. Tampa Bay played without Tristan Wirfs and Chris Godwin in Week 1. Houston was down Christian Kirk and Braxton Berrios and shuffled the interior offensive line around.
Quarterback Play
Baker Mayfield didn’t post big yardage in Week 1 but he was clinical in high-leverage spots. Mayfield had 167 yards with three touchdowns. The early takeaway for Mayfield is his early rapport with first-round draft pick Emeka Egbuka, who caught two touchdowns, while Mike Evans continued to occupy the attention of his opponents’ top corner.
C.J. Stroud’s opener was out of rhythm by his standards. He had 188 passing yards, took three sacks, and he threw an interception. Even so, Houston’s spacing concepts still produced windows for chain-moving throws, and Stroud historically responds after a bad outing. The key will be getting Nico Collins going early and using Dalton Schultz effectively on quick throws.
Betting Trends & H2H
- Both clubs opened with unders relative to the total to start their seasons.
- Tampa Bay is 1-0 against the spread after their dramatic win over the Falcons.
- Houston is 0-1 against the spread after their game against the Rams.
Buccaneers vs Texans Model Projection
Score Projection: Buccaneers 20 – Texans 23
Win Probability: Buccaneers 43%, Texans 57%
Final Thoughts
Both of these teams looked disjointed offensively in their first game of the season. Tampa found some late answers with their passing attack but it is asking a lot of them to move the ball effectively through the air in a second straight road game. I’ll take the under in this contest, as both defenses should have some periods of sustained success in this one.
