Texans vs Buccaneers Game Thread

Week 16 in the NFL kicks off with a Saturday tripleheader, providing all day NFL action. In the early afternoon game the 7-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the 9-5 Houston Texans.

The Texans come into this game in first place in the AFC South, needing a win to maintain their one game lead in the division over the Tennessee Titans. The Texans are coming off a big win over the Titans last week, and are in the midst of their best stretch of football this year, with wins over the New England Patriots, the Indianapolis Colts and the Titans in the last four weeks. The Texans’ once proud defense has fallen on hard times, ranking 28th in the NFL. That leaves it up to star quarterback Deshaun Watson and the Texans’ offense to pull out most games for the Texans.

The Buccaneers come into this game red hot, winners of five out of their last six games after getting off to a dreadful 2-6 start on the season. The Buccaneers have one of the NFL’s most prolific offenses, but struggle to protect the football. Quarterback Jameis Winston leads a Buccaneers offense that ranks dead last in the NFL in turnovers, an offense that has turned the ball over an absurd 33 times in 14 games. It’s tough to win football games that way, but the Buccaneers have managed to buck the odds with their recent winning ways. If Jameis Winston could learn to protect the football at an NFL average rate this Buccaneers team would likely be heading to the playoffs. Instead, they are left to play spoiler against a first place Texans team.

It’s the Texans and the Buccaneers in what could turn into a wild shootout in Tampa Bay. Enjoy the game everybody.