Gameday Tampa Bay
December 21st, 2019
Game 15
Texans (9-5) at Bucs (7-7)
Kickoff: 1 p.m.
TV: NFL Network, WMOR-TV Channel 32.
Streaming: Fans may stream the broadcast. Options include Buccaneers.com, Buccaneers Official App or Yahoo! Sports app. Geographic restrictions apply.
Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network WXTB-FM 97.9 in the Tampa-St. Petersburg region; 97.9 FM ESPN Radio in Tallahassee (Transmisiones de radio en español en WTMP-FM 96.1 y WMGG-AM 1470 en Tampa); SiriusXM Channel 93.
Weather: Cloudy day but at least it will be warm. The gloomy clouds are expected to darken skies over the Den of Depression today and all day, but temperatures will be mild. Tailgaters will guzzle beers in the high 60s and by the time kickoff rolls around, look for it to be 74 degrees, per the good people of AccuWeather.com. It may warm up to 76 in the second quarter before easing back down to 74 at game’s end.
Odds: Per the Mirage in Las Vegas, Texas -3; O/U 50.
Outlook: This game could get out of hand. It has all the key ingredients for Mr. Entertainment, America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, to have a meltdown. He will be amped up and putting too much pressure on himself to overcome the absences of Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Scotty Miller, and Jameis is sure to try to force passes to O.J. Howard and Cam Brate and Justin Watson. That’s just the feel Joe gets. If Jameis can somehow pull this game off, he will be one of the elite quarterbacks in the game. If he crumbles under the pressure, he will just be a good quarterback (and yes, one absolutely the Bucs need to re-sign). Between cornerback Carlton Davis having a gimpy ankle and so many injuries to the receivers plus the Texans still fighting for a division crown, and not to be forgotten the Bucs playing in the Den of Depression, Joe smells a blowout.
Trinkets: Texans QB Deshaun Watson completed 19 of 27 passes (70.4 percent) for 243 yards with 2 touchdowns against 2 interceptions last week. Joined Hall of Famer Steve Young as only quarterbacks with 25+ touchdown passes and 5+ rushing touchdowns in multiple seasons in NFL history. Has 2+ touchdown passes and 90+ rating in 3 of past 4. Has 10 touchdowns (8 passing, 2 running) against an interception in 3 career games against NFC South teams. … RB Carlos Hyde rushed for a team-high 104 yards and a touchdown last week. Aims for third in a row on road with rushing touchdown. Has 100+ rushing yards in 2 of past 3 on road. Leads team with 1,030 rushing yards, his first-career 1,000-yard season. … RB Duke Johnson has a career-high 394 rushing yards in 2019. Since entering NFL in 2015, ranks second among running backs in receiving yards (2,523). … WR DeAndre Hopkins had 6 catches for 119 yards last week. Aims for third in a row with 115+ yards receiving. Had 8 catches for 101 yards and a touchdown in the last meeting. Has 17 catches for 268 yards (134 per game) and 2 touchdowns in his past 2 road games against the NFC South. Needs a catch to join Andre Johnson as the only players in franchise history with 100+ catches in consecutive seasons. … WR Kenny Stills had 2 touchdown catches last week. Had 7 catches for 180 yards and a touchdown in his last game against the Bucs (November 2017 with Miami). Has a receiving touchdown in 2 of his past 3 games against NFC South. … LB Zach Cunningham had 14 tackles and half a sack last week. Aims for third in a row with 14+ tackles. … LB Whitney Mercilus had the second interception of the season in Week 15. He has a sack in 2 of the last 3 games against NFC South. … QB Jameis Winston passed for a career-high 458 yards and 4 touchdowns against an interception in Week 15. Became the first quarterback with 450+ pass yards in consecutive games and four touchdowns in NFL history. Is third quarterback (Drew Brees and Peyton Manning in 2013) with 5+ games (5) of 375+ passing yards in a single season in NFL history. Aims for his sixth in a row at home with 300+ pass yards. Leads NFL with 4,573 pass yards and ranks second with 30 touchdown passes, both Tampa Bay single-season franchise records. … RB Ronald Jones has 50+ scrimmage yards in 2 of his past 3 at home. RB Peyton Barber had 2 touchdowns (1 rushing, 1 receiving) in his past 3 at home. … WR Breshad Perriman set career highs in receiving yards (113) and touchdown catches (3) in Week 15. Aims for his third in a row with a receiving touchdown. … TE O.J. Howard has 60+ receiving yards in 2 of his past 3 games. Aims for his fourth in a row with 4+ catches. … LB Shaq Barrett leads NFL with 16.5 sacks, tied with Hall of Famer Warren Sapp (2000) for most by a Bucs player in a single season. Aims for his fifth in a row with a sack. … LB Lavonte David had 8 tackles and forced a fumble last week. David is the only player with 20+ forced fumbles (20) and 10+ interceptions (10) since 2013. … Rookie LB Devin White had his second-career fumble recovery in Week 15. He is 1 of 3 linebackers (De’Vondre Campbell and Fred Warner) with 75+ tackles (78), 3+ forced fumbles (3) and 2+ sacks (2.5) in 2019. … Rookie Sean Murphy-Bunting had a 70-yard interception return for a touchdown last week, his first career touchdown.
December 21st, 2019 at 12:06 am
Texans 30
Bucs 24
Bucs defense just isn’t good enough to control the better offenses.
December 21st, 2019 at 12:39 am
Wow Joe thanks for the pep talk. Are you available for kid’s birthday parties?
December 21st, 2019 at 12:46 am
Do You know if the game can be streamed on amazon prime like they did for many of the Thursday night games?
Guess I’ll Find out either way in a few hours lol
December 21st, 2019 at 1:03 am
Don’t believe so since it is not a prime time game but maybe it could be streamed using the NFL app since it is an NFL Network game. The NFL app used to have a 24/7 feed of NFL Network. Got rid of the NFL app years ago because all it did for Joe was suck battery life. Rarely used it.
The streaming info Joe has in the story came from the Bucs and there is no mention of the NFL app.
Until all games are available on the internet or YouTube TV, Joe’s sticking with DirecTV.
December 21st, 2019 at 1:07 am
bad spot for the bucs.
This reminds of the 2016 sunday night flex game between the Bucs and the Cowboys.
34-18 Houston.
Winston 345 yards 2 tds 3 ints 2 funbles (Hargraves gets a Pick against us)
Watson 325 yards 3 tds 0 ints 1 rushing td 57yards on the ground.
Sorry Tampa is just not good enough
We are not playing Jax or Det we are play8ing a team that is just better all around
December 21st, 2019 at 1:07 am
I think it will come down to the last possession. Especially if the O-line can shine.
December 21st, 2019 at 1:10 am
I do not have much confidence in this game as it scares the heck out of me.
Hungry playoff team fighting for their lives vs a banged up eliminated team fighting for moral victories and culture change.
With that being said, I’d never bet against my Bucs (no wonder I’m broke).
Bucs Win a shocker 31-30 off a game winning FG by Gay. Lego! Go BUCS!!!
December 21st, 2019 at 1:56 am
Deshaun Watson is the perfect example of a true franchise qb that you trip over yourself trying open up the vault for. Jameis? Not so much. Not yet anyway.
December 21st, 2019 at 2:09 am
Wow, just wow. The excuses are starting earlier than usual. Poor Jameis is missing 2 receivers so he’s primed for a meltdown? Horsepuckey. You don’t pay players the kind of money he’s supposedly asking for if they melt down at every whiff of adversity.
THIS is EXACTLY the type of game where fans get to see what this TEAM is made of. And yes, that INCLUDES Jameis Winston. Since Jameis has been here, Mike Evans had only missed TWO games prior to this year. Godwin hasn’t missed any since he’s been here. Beyond those 2, Jameis has had several other pretty decent receivers to throw to over his 5 years here; guys like Vincent Jackson, Adam Humphries, Desean Jackson, Cam Brate, OJ Howard to name a few.
Enough with the excuses. If you can’t run with the big dogs, get back on the porch.
December 21st, 2019 at 3:03 am
@Joe yea I’ve had the sunday ticket app for the last few years, but it only shows Sunday games apparently, or at least all NFLN games are blacked out on it.
Amazon prime advertised earlier this season it would be streaming a Saturday triple header on dec 21, but I haven’t been able to find any more info yet.
I’ll keep you posted if I find out more
December 21st, 2019 at 3:09 am
Okay I just found some confirmation that it will NOT be available on amazon prime, FYI.
Guess I gotta go rogue tomorrow 😜
December 21st, 2019 at 5:45 am
So weird that today is game day…just don’t have that game day feeling
December 21st, 2019 at 6:23 am
Wow, just wow. The excuses are starting earlier than usual. Poor Jameis is missing 2 receivers so he’s primed for a meltdown? Horsepuckey. You don’t pay players the kind of money he’s supposedly asking for if they melt down at every whiff of adversity.
I AGREE….. perfect test at the right time….I dont think JW is worth 30 million and blowing up our salary cap !!!
December 21st, 2019 at 6:50 am
31-24 Bucs. Bucs offense keeps moving with another good game by Perriman, a TD each by Brate and Howard, with contributions in the passing game by Ogunbawale and Schnell. Jameis throws for 350 3/1, with Barber getting a rushing TD. Defense continues to do just enough to keep the winning streak going, with Shaq getting the franchise record for sacks, and Dean and White getting INT’s.
December 21st, 2019 at 7:38 am
It should be a blowout……too many injuries and no bucs motivation for playoffs
—————
Texans +30
Bucs – 21
————–
December 21st, 2019 at 7:39 am
I HATE that this game was moved to Saturday. What am I going to do now on Sunday? 😁
December 21st, 2019 at 8:19 am
Buc believer:
You’re going to bask in the glow of an improbable win along with the rest of us.
December 21st, 2019 at 8:42 am
Yawn
December 21st, 2019 at 9:16 am
Which JayMiss shows up today?
Two games left and I feel another clunker lurking in the shadows.
Will it happen today? No Evans. No Godwin. No running game.
Another opportunity for Bad JayMiss to appear.
Peace, out
December 21st, 2019 at 9:22 am
Snookman forecast probably right but should be exciting!
December 21st, 2019 at 9:27 am
yeah screw the excuses….
Good QBs elevate the players around him….
average QBs need Good players around him to elevate his game….
we’ll find out what side of the fence JW is on….
im all for re-signing him….but without a playoff appearance and a 10game winning season, 25mil per year with some incentives is the best we can offer…..
GO BUCS!!!!!!
December 21st, 2019 at 9:36 am
We were told JW made the receivers, not the other way around.
This is the kind of sht that pisses me off. We have to listen to people call us haters and now we get the excuse that we don’t have our best players so expect a loss and a massive meltdown.
Thank God we didn’t make the playoffs then. Because without the guys that got us here, we wouldn’t have a chance. Bucs life as usual.
December 21st, 2019 at 9:52 am
D.R.
As usual excellent response!
I particularly like your conclusion.
“Enough with the excuses. If you can’t run with the big dogs, get back on the porch.”
Joe
Agree with your observation about JW. This is a game where he can show us he’s great or just another good QB.
Being the blog optimist however I would like to point out some positives…ROJO is healthy…Barber is healthy…our OL is largely intact and we have a very hungry OJ out to redeem his season with plenty of $$$ on the line.
We have a comfort target for JW in Brate…we have a newly energized Perriman playing with the most confidence he’s had since he’s been in the league. Confidence does a lot for a guy.
December 21st, 2019 at 10:09 am
@ Slugglife
The fact is …..is that most bucs fans are stupid and they are not realists like me and a few others that lurk around this site.
They eat up all the bogus crap put out my the media and believe the Hype and they’ve been losing for so long that just about anything goes.
– JW is nothing more than a really good backup.
– JW doesn’t make anyone better.
– JW high, inaccurate throws, and stupid decision making will never propel his team forward….only backwards.
– JW will always keep Tampa Bay a loser.