5 Bold Predictions for Houston Texans vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Houston Texans welcome the defending Super Bowl Champions the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to NRG Stadium for their 2021 preseason finale.

So far in the 2021 preseason, the Houston Texans have shown their growth and development and gave many fans optimism heading into the regular season. This will be the first matchup between these two franchises since 2019 when Deshaun Watson led the Texans to a 23-20 win against the Jameis Winston quarterbacked Bucs.

This week’s preseason finale will feature a much different look at quarterback for both of these teams. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the reigning Super Bowl LV MVP Tom Brady starting the game while the Houston Texans send out 11 year NFL veteran Tyrod Taylor.

Players around NRG Stadium are getting primed both mentally and physically to face the Super Bowl Champs. With a matchup like this, players such as Free Safety, Justin Reid voiced their excitement about the upcoming matchup to reporters at training camp.

"“Oh, this is the best test you can have,” Justin Reid said. “I mean, going against the defending Super Bowl champs, Brady is the greatest quarterback of all time. This is the people you want to play. I still have yet to pick him off, even though I should have. Wish I could have some of those back, so this should be a fun game to play in against them.”"

The preseason finale for the Houston Texans will be a true test to see where this team lands in their development and depth coming into the 2021-22 regular season.

Tyrod Taylor will play as a true number one quarterback.

Once the 2020-21 season concluded, Tyrod Taylor was unsure of where he would be playing and in what situation. With the Deshaun Watson lawsuits still lingering around his name, the Houston Texans need Taylor to step up as a veteran leader in a major way come this season.

Playing sparingly so far this preseason, number 5 has posted a stat line of 6/9 passing for 50 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. The workload has been minimal, and as it should be in the first couple of weeks of the preseason. This week, however, Head Coach David Culley would like to see his starters go into the 3rd quarter in the finale.

Whether Houston Texans fans want it or not, Taylor is the team’s starting quarterback for the 2021-22 season. He is a veteran around the league with many leadership qualities that will help improve this offense with each passing week. Let’s not forget this is the same quarterback that got the Buffalo Bills to the playoffs after a 17 season-long gap. Wide Receiver Brandin Cooks told ESPN he sees many positive qualities in his new quarterback.

"“Obviously, we know Deshaun is explosive, but at the same time, Tyrod has been playing in this league for a long time and that’s for a reason,” Cooks said, via Sarah Barshop of ESPN. “He’s very smart, the way that he’s precise in his throws. He brings a different signature to the game, but I still will say in a great way for this offense.”"

Expect Tyrod to silence his many critics come Saturday against the defending Super Bowl Champs.

Expect Phillip Lindsay to have a bigger role in this offense.

It is no surprise that the Houston Texans are looking to improve on the run game from the 2020-21 season. After leading the NFL in passing yards last year, the Texans need to be more balanced. The addition of former Denver Bronco Phillip Lindsay is a step in the right direction. Lindsay, a three-year NFL veteran out of Colorado was brought in to bring various elements to this new look Texans offense.

In his three seasons in the NFL, Lindsay has only completed one full season. With injuries being a possible roadblock for Lindsay, it helps that the Texans have other options to help with the load and keep defenses honest. When asked about the running back by committee approach the team is seemingly going to have, Linday had this to say:

"“In this day in age — you need more than one running back,” Lindsay said following practice on Tuesday. “You guys don’t understand that the smallest hits are the ones that mess you up the most. But when we can go in and out and have so many players, not only does it keep you fresh — but it also keeps the defense on their heels. So it works to our advantage.”"

Head Coach David Culley has praised the former Broncos running back throughout the preseason, with more details on his exact words here.

With new scenery and a running back crew to help take some weight off of his shoulders, look out for Philip Lindsay to emerge as the top running back for the Texans and prove it on the field against one of the top defenses in the NFL from the 2020-21 season. They are in for a test against the Buccaneers this week.

The Houston Texans defense will sack Tom Brady.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers undoubtedly approach the preseason with caution when it comes to hits and possible injuries and some extra caution when they have a 44-year-old future hall of fame quarterback leading their team. The Houston Texans defense comes into the preseason finale recording a sack on every opposing quarterback they have faced so far.

Against the Green Bay Packers, the Texans were able to muster up two sacks total, one on Jordan Love and the other on the backup Kurt Benkert. In the in-state contest versus the Dallas Cowboys, the defense had a field day with the rival quarterbacks combining for five sacks on the day, two on Ben Dinucci, two on Cooper Rush, and one sack on Garrett Gilbert.

With Lovie Smith at the helm, it is obvious that the Houston Texans are not afraid to bring pressure no matter who sets up behind the center. The transition from the 3-4 defensive scheme the Texans have run to Smith’s Tampa 2 scheme allows the defensive line to get in the quarterback’s face consistently.

Do not expect a matchup against arguably the greatest quarterback of all time to dictate how Coach Smith brings his pressure on Saturday.

Ka’imi Fairbairn will maintain his perfect kicking performance.

If there is one thing that the Houston Texans will need for the 2021-22 season, it is consistency. The 27-year-old place-kicker from Kailua, Hawaii recently signed a four-year, $17.6 million contract this past summer.

So far in the 2021 preseason, Fairbairn remains perfect with his kicking posting a 6/6 for field goals with his longest being from 42 yards and a perfect 4/4 on extra-point attempts as well. Fairbairn met with the media this past week and expressed his excitement for the upcoming season.

"“I’ve been liking the way things are going a lot through training camp, especially getting the operation right, getting my tempo right,” Fairbairn said. “A lot of it just focusing on myself and trusting the other guys around me to do their job, and they always do. I’m looking forward to the season a lot.”"

Fairbairn has been everything and more for the Texans so far this preseason. His value will only increase throughout the season and the ability to put up points on the board when an offense may stall near the red zone is crucial to the overall team success in the upcoming season.

The veteran kicker will remain calm, cool, and collected throughout the finale of the preseason for the Houston Texans. Special teams remain an underappreciated aspect of the game. Ever since the extra points were moved back a few years ago, extra points are just as critical as field goals now.

The Houston Texans will beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and finish the preseason 3-0.

This matchup has the potential to be a slow start for the Houston Texans if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tom Brady can manage the clock and minimize the Texans offensive opportunities.

What may be the ultimate deciding factor is the depth that the Texans have on defense. They will bring constant pressure and force either quarterback Blaine Gabbert, Ryan Griffin, or Kyle Trask to make mistakes that will move the game in Houston’s favor.

The majority of the scoring by Tampa Bay will be in the first half. The Texans offense, led by Tyrod Taylor will do enough to keep it close if not tied going to the 3rd quarter. As soon as Tom Brady relaxes on the sidelines, expect the game to shift in momentum towards the home team. The Texans defense will force pressure, get turnovers, and the team will capitalize enough to pull out the win at NRG Stadium in Houston.

This is the preseason finale, where roster hopefuls have one more opportunity to make an impression and season veterans finish dusting the rust off and build chemistry with their new teammates. The Houston Texans are gaining momentum and optimism through the preseason. Look for both of those to continue on Saturday.