Are you kidding, C.J. Stroud?
In the best performance ever by a rookie quarterback, Stroud passed for 470 yards and five touchdowns. His fifth score came on a 15-yard throw to Tank Dell with six seconds remaining to give the Texans a dramatic 39-37 win. The drive took only 40 seconds after Baker Mayfield celebrated with his teammates in the end zone on a go-ahead touchdown with 46 seconds left.
In the most exciting game of the day, the teams went back-and-forth with 49 points in the second half. The Bucs led 17-10 at halftime.
Houston played the second half without kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn, and running back Dare Ogunbowale, the emergency kicker, kicked a 29-yard field goal with 8:45 remaining to give the Texans the lead. The Bucs regained the lead on Mayfield’s 14-yard pass to tight end Cade Otton with 46 seconds left.
It left Stroud too much time.
On the final drive, Stroud passed for 75 yards to demolish the rookie record of 433 passing yards set by former Colts quarterback Andrew Luck in a 2012 game against the Dolphins. Stroud tied the rookie record of five touchdowns set by multiple players, including former Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Stroud also ran in a 2-point conversion in the second half with Fairbairn out.
Three Texans’ receivers went over 100 yards as Houston had 496 total yards. Noah Brown had six catches for 153 yards and a touchdown, Dalton Schultz 10 catches for 130 yards and one touchdown and Dell six for 114 yards and two touchdowns.
Houston moved to 4-4 with two of their losses coming on last-play field goals, including last week’s heartbreaker to the Panthers. It was Stroud’s worst performance of the season with only 140 passing yards and no touchdowns.
Tampa Bay lost its fourth in a row to fall to 3-5.
Mayfield was 21-of-30 for 265 yards with two touchdowns, both to Otton, who had six catches for 70 yards. Mike Evans, who, like Mayfield, grew up in Texas, had four catches for 87 yards.