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Up to date 35s in the past
Baker Mayfield leads the Buccaneers into Houston for a conflict with C.J. Stroud and the Texans for an early-season check between two playoff contenders
The reigning NFC South champion Buccaneers look to maneuver to 2-0 after squeaking by the Falcons in Week 1, whereas the Texans hope to rebound from an unpleasant offensive efficiency of their opener in opposition to the Rams.
Comply with under for perception and evaluation from The Athletic’s group of NFL reporters.
It was a wild, high-scoring day in fantasy soccer yesterday. That resulted in lots of fantasy managers needing a Monday night time miracle in tonight’s doubleheader to salvage a win.
I requested our chatters in The Athletic Discord chat room (join here) what number of factors they want for his or her respective miracles. The outcomes have been throughout the board, with most needing anyplace from 20-40 factors.
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Our Zak Keefer printed a strong story as we speak on Tampa Bay Buccaneers extensive receiver Mike Evans. It explores the difficult relationship together with his father and the way his homicide drove Evans to the NFL. Right here is an excerpt from the story:
💬: “He’ll be near the place it began Monday night time in Houston, lower than an hour from the place he grew up, the place Mike Evans realized to bury the ache and harness the fashion that boiled inside. That’s what lit the fireplace in a 9-year-old boy and hardened him into the person he grew to become. All these years later, that fireplace has but to burn out.”
Learn extra under.
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His father’s homicide drove Mike Evans to the NFL, a ‘massive brother’ taught him learn how to keep there
RB Dameon Pierce is a wholesome scratch tonight for the Texans.
Followers needs to be inspired by Chubb's 13 carries for 60 yards final week in opposition to the Rams. It's not concerning the numbers as a lot as it’s about Chubb, who's battled huge injurieslike he can contribute in significant methods this season.
Keep in mind, Joe Mixon is on the Texans' reserve/NFI record, which implies he’ll miss at the very least the primary 4 video games of the season after an ankle damage he suffered within the offseason.
Followers needs to be inspired by Chubb's 13 carries for 60 yards final week in opposition to the Rams. It's not concerning the numbers as a lot as it’s about Chubb, who's battled huge accidents however appears like he can contribute in significant methods this season.
Tonight marks the primary version of the Monday Evening Soccer doubleheader. It has grow to be an everyday incidence for the reason that NFL’s 2021 tv rights deal.
So why does it occur? Our Steven Louis Goldstein breaks it down under.
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The ‘Monday Evening Soccer’ doubleheader is again: Why it occurs and the place to observe every recreation
Baker Mayfield is a cautionary story. How precisely are NFL groups so dangerous at drafting and creating quarterbacks? Mayfield was drafted No. 1 total by the Cleveland Browns in 2018, however the Browns have been such a large number, and Mayfield bought caught up in that mess (and he was blamed for it in some ways).
Mayfield went to the Carolina Panthers after which the Los Angeles Rams (each in 2022) earlier than becoming a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2023. He wasn’t seen as a savior for the franchise however has turned out to be simply that. He began all 34 video games the previous two seasons and handed for greater than 4,000 yards each seasons, and final week, Mayfield helped lead the Bucs to a win in Atlanta.
He has discovered a house in Tampa Bay, and the Buccaneers have discovered a quarterback in Mayfield.
DeMeco Ryans achieved prompt success upon his return to the Texans because of C.J. Stroud’s breakout rookie season. However to maintain that amid Stroud’s struggles final yr, Houston remade its identification into one thing way more becoming for its former star linebacker-turned-head-coach: protection.
The Texans’ protection completed the 2024 common season fourth in EPA allowed per play and sixth in complete yards allowed per recreation. Cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. was named first-team All-Professional, and Houston additional bolstered its protection by including security C.J. Gardner-Johnson, recent off a Tremendous Bowl win, in a commerce with the Eagles.
Add in 2023 Defensive Rookie of the Yr Will Anderson Jr., fellow star cross rusher Danielle Hunter and stalwart center linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair and mix that with one of many NFL’s finest defensive play-callers in Ryans, and you’ve got the makings of a unit that ought to completely smother opponents once more in 2025.
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No matter what occurs tonight, it is going to be powerful to actually budge the Buccaneers’ ceiling on offense till October. That’s when Tampa Bay reportedly expects to get two of its finest gamers again — extensive receiver Chris Godwin, from a damaged ankle that price him the second half of final season, and left sort out Tristan Wirfs, who underwent knee surgical procedure in July.
The 2 have 5 Professional Bowl nods earlier than them, and Wirfs is coming off his second profession first-team All-Professional nod in 2024. Plus, final yr’s No. 3 receiver Jalen McMillan can be anticipated to overlook a number of extra weeks with the “severely sprained neck” he sustained within the preseason.
Baker Mayfield nonetheless has a powerful offensive line and two very good exterior targets in Mike Evans and Emeka Egbuka. However he’s going through a tricky process tonight in opposition to a Texans protection thought-about among the many finest within the NFL.
Under are the Houston Texans inactives for tonight's Monday Evening Soccer recreation:
Essentially the most notable information right here is that Pierce is a wholesome scratch.
In any other case, Andrews' excessive ankle sprain he suffered in opposition to the Rams will preserve him out for the foreseeable future. Jarrett Patterson is anticipated to begin in his place.
Kirk and Berrios are each out as soon as once more and coping with hamstring points. We'll get an opportunity to see rookie WRs and Iowa State teammates Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel tonight once more.
Under are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers inactive gamers for tonight's recreation:
I’m not practically as assured in choosing a winner of this recreation as I’m about this: Tonight’s recreation will fall properly wanting the 42.5 complete that’s at the moment listed on betMGM as of Friday afternoon. The Texans’ 14-9 loss to the Rams fell properly wanting that, whereas the Buccaneers-Falcons complete barely went over at 43 regardless of Atlanta having one of many weaker defenses within the league.
As for the end result itself, I feel it is a recreation the place the Buccaneers’ damage woes on offense get uncovered in opposition to a a lot harder protection than the one it confronted in Atlanta final week. The Texans will wrestle to attain factors, however I count on Houston to capitalize on turnovers and decelerate Tampa Bay’s offense greater than sufficient.
Decide: Texans 20, Buccaneers 14
I’m excited to share that The Athletic’s NFL report will now embody recreation footage, including a dynamic new factor to our best-in-class protection of the most important sports activities league in America.
We are going to use this footage to inform compelling and revealing tales in a number of methods throughout The Athletic, together with quick recaps from each recreation and additional postgame video analysis of select matchups. We may even use the footage to offer extra in-depth evaluation from our group of NFL specialists and as a part of our NFL podcasts “Scoop Metropolis” and “The Athletic Soccer Present.”
Our aim is to take you contained in the motion to indicate what’s actually occurring between the strains — who bought the block to make the large play occur, which group executed on its technique higher, what it’s actually wish to play quarterback.
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C.J. Stroud helped reset the expectations for rookie NFL quarterbacks — perhaps to an unfair quantity — when he led the Texans to the playoffs in 2023. Stroud led the NFL in passing yards per recreation and (lowest) interception fee, acquired MVP votes and gained NFL Offensive Rookie of the Yr nearly unanimously.
However Stroud fell again to earth fairly dramatically in 2024. The Texans returned to the playoffs — thanks largely to their protection — in 2024, however Stroud’s touchdown-to-interception fee jumped from 23-5 to 20-12 and his cross yards per recreation dove from 273.9 to 219.2.
An enormous a part of that was Houston’s offensive line struggles. Stroud was sacked 52 instances final season, greater than some other quarterback within the NFL not named Caleb Williams. The Texans didn’t do a lot to handle that space final offseason, with their greatest transfer being to commerce away Professional Bowl sort out Laremy Tunsil to the Commanders. And thus far, 2025 has seemed lots like 2024 — Stroud didn’t file a landing cross and was sacked thrice in Houston’s Week 1 loss to the Rams.
Just like Tampa Bay, Houston invested its first decide within the 2025 NFL Draft in a large receiver coming off a really profitable faculty profession.
Jayden Higgins is an extended, rangy wideout who had two standout seasons at Iowa State, serving to the Cyclones attain the Huge 12 Championship Sport in 2024. He had a game-high in receiving yards in Week 1 in opposition to the Rams, though that tally was a meager 32 in a tough day throughout for Houston’s offense.
However Higgins nonetheless figures to have a giant position in Houston’s plans for this season, as he acquired extra targets from Stroud final week than some other pass-catcher apart from No. 1 wideout Nico Collins and tight finish Dalton Schultz.
Emeka Egbuka is among the many highest-profile faculty soccer gamers within the name-image-likeness period to return to school. He did so in 2024, when he might have entered that yr’s NFL draft and certain been a Day 2 decide. As an alternative, Egbuka gambled that an additional yr in faculty would assist elevate his profile and elevate Ohio State to a nationwide championship — and he gained that guess.
Egbuka going within the first spherical of April’s draft wasn’t shocking, however the group that selected him turned heads, provided that the Buccaneers had simply re-signed Chris Godwin in free company, nonetheless had Mike Evans and noticed promise from third-round decide Jalen McMillan in his 2024 rookie season.
However with Godwin recovering from a fractured ankle suffered final season and McMillan on injured reserve as a consequence of a neck sprain sustained in preseason, Egbuka proved his value as a helpful second choice behind Evans in Week 1. He had 4 receptions for 67 yards and two touchdowns in his NFL debut, together with the game-winner within the 23-20 victory over Atlanta.
The Texans’ offensive line struggled mightily final season and entered this one with loads of questions — none of which have been answered in Houston’s Week 1 loss to the Rams. I assumed Vic Tafur made an excellent level in his unfold decide when citing the Texans’ struggles in cross safety, particularly in opposition to the blitz.
who famously likes to blitz and is a assure to take action greater than the six instances L.A. did final week? Buccanneers head coach and defensive play-caller Todd Bowles.
If Houston can’t enhance in that space, it may very well be an extended night time for C.J. Stroud within the pocket.
For those who’re someway nonetheless unconvinced about Baker Mayfield, Week 1 needs to be one other robust piece of proof towards the truth that he’s a reputable upper-tier NFL starter.
Mayfield is on his fourth group and his third offensive coordinator in as a few years with the Buccaneers. Positive, he has assist — extensive receiver Mike Evans is a future Corridor of Famer, and Tristan Wirfs appears prone to be part of him in Canton, Ohio — however the playmaking means he confirmed flashes of whereas battling accidents in Cleveland and Carolina is now on full, constant show in Tampa Bay.
It doesn’t seem like that can change in 2025, as Mayfield threw for 167 yards and three touchdowns to guide an offense lacking Wirfs and receivers Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan to victory.
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LOS ANGELES — The 2025 NFL season arrived for each the Los Angeles Rams and the Houston Texans with a kidney-busting, spine-bending collision.
Davante Adams, the veteran receiver lengthy identified for the finesse in his route-running, gutted by way of successful from Texans security Henry To’oTo’o like an old-school fullback. Broadcaster Kevin Harlan famous that Adams “bent like a pretzel” as he contorted backward on the waist, his knees folded beneath him as To’oTo’o made contact. The aftershock injured cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., who was latched onto Adams from behind for a sort out.
Adams held on to the ball, changing the third-and-2. Stingley left the sport, then returned later in a primary half that noticed each groups punching and clawing and hitting one another with a physicality not usually mirrored within the early season. The Rams won 14-9.
The Los Angeles Rams began the season 1-0 with a bodily 14-9 win over the Houston Texans. The sport featured late drama, as Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair pressured a Colby Parkinson fumble with 4 minutes left, halting a late Rams drive on the 12-yard line, to provide Houston yet another possession and an opportunity to steal a victory.
Nevertheless, Chris Shula’s protection wouldn’t be outdone as new Los Angeles defender Nate Landman pressured a fumble of his personal, punching the ball out of the palms of operating again Dare Ogunbowale, to provide the ball again to Matthew Stafford and the Rams offense to seal the victory. The fumble was solely the second misplaced fumble of Ogunbowale’s nine-year NFL profession.
GO FURTHER
Rams maintain Texans to 9 factors in bodily Week 1 win: Key takeaways
Baker Mayfield threw a 25-yard landing cross to Emeka Egbuka with 1:04 remaining, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers held on for a 23-20 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1 when Younghoe Koo missed a 44-yard discipline aim with two seconds left.
The Bucs’ win spoiled some clutch late play from Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who drove Atlanta 60 yards in 57 seconds to arrange Koo for the sphere aim try.
Penix additionally engineered a drive that gave the Falcons a late 20-17 lead, twice utilizing each inch of his 6-foot-2 body to stretch out and convert large performs. First, he reached the ball out to transform a diving fourth-and-2 on the Tampa Bay 3-yard line with 2:54 to go to provide the Falcons a recent set of downs. 5 performs later, he did it once more, diving towards the top zone on fourth-and-goal, the ball simply breaking the airplane to provide Atlanta a 20-17 lead.
Mayfield accomplished 17 of 32 passes for 167 yards and three touchdowns.
