The Houston Texans take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday at 12:00 p.m. Central Time from NRG Stadium for Week 9.
Tampa Bay presents a unique opponent. The squad is a year removed from winning the NFC South for the second consecutive year. Although Tom Brady isn’t the quarterback, it’s still a team worthy enough to defend its division title.
The biggest change is under center with Baker Mayfield and also new offensive coordinator David Canales. What exactly do these additions offer?
To help preview Week 9, River Wells from the Bucs Wire fielded some questions about the Texans’ upcoming opponent.
Is Baker Mayfield really the answer at quarterback — both long-term and short-term?
RW — In the short term? Absolutely. Mayfield is massively outperforming his one-year, $4,000,000 contract, and though he has struggled in some games, he’s far from the biggest problem with Tampa Bay’s offense. In the long term? That will be a question for GM Jason Licht, and he’ll have to decide if the way Mayfield is playing is worth extending for what would be a similar-looking contract to Geno Smith’s. If you want my opinion, I wouldn’t resign a quarterback who is playing average football to a long term deal.
Is there still a confidence that the NFC South is still within the grasp of the Bucs?
RW — There is, but it’s waning. The Atlanta Falcons have a comically easy schedule the rest of the way out, so the Bucs need to pick up wins to end their current three-game skid AND to beat the Falcons on Dec. 10. If the Bucs keep losing or they get swept by Atlanta, it’s game over in Tampa Bay, and the team knows it.
What has David Canales done that is better or worse than Byron Leftwich?
RW — Canales has been a lot better at implementing motion into the offense and including more variable playcalling, utilizing rollouts and play action at a far higher rate than Leftwich ever did. That’s led to some early success, but the offense is stalling right now and a big reason for that is Canales’ trouble dialing up plays in the red zone. In that aspect, he’s comparable or worse so far, so that’s a big area he needs to improve on.
Who are some unsung Bucs Texans fans need to watch out for?
RW — Rookie cornerback Christian Izien has been quiet lately, but he still leads rookies in the NFL for interceptions, so he could return to form sooner rather than later. In a reverse scenario, rookie Yaya Diaby had a slow start to his year but has shown a lot of promise in his last two games, recording a sack against the Buffalo Bills.
What is your prediction?
