Todd Bowles’ baffling clock error allowed CJ Stroud and the Texans to stage a stunning comeback, with the Houston rookie having a historic day against the Buccaneers
- Todd Bowles made a costly clock management error late in the fourth quarter
- And CJ Stroud made him pay with a perfectly executed touchdown drive
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CJ Stroud threw a game-winning touchdown pass for the Texans with six seconds left on Sunday, but he shouldn’t have had time to make the play.
His score against fellow rookie Tank Dell only happened because of a huge clock blunder on Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles’ previous drive.
After Tampa Bay receiver Mike Evans recovered a fumble at the Texans’ 14 with 49 seconds left, Bowles opted to use his final timeout rather than allow a 10-second runoff.
Baker Mayfield threw a go-ahead touchdown pass to Cade Otton on the next play to give Tampa Bay a 37-33 lead.
That left Stroud with 46 seconds – instead of 36 – to cover 75 meters with two timeouts.
Todd Bowles made a huge clock management error against the Texans on Sunday
It gave sensational rookie CJ Stroud just enough time to make a late comeback
Stroud passed for a rookie-record 470 yards and five touchdowns in the win at home
And the sensational starting quarterback was just able to make it happen.
After completing two passes to Dalton Schultz for 20 yards and using both timeouts, Stroud hit Noah Brown for a 14-yard gain and then spiked the ball to stop the clock.
He then connected with Tank Dell for 26 yards to put Houston at the Buccaneers 15 with 10 seconds left.
Stroud then found Dell in the back of the end zone to cap a record day in which he threw for a rookie-record 470 yards and five touchdowns.
When asked why he chose to waste his final timeout instead of burning ten seconds off the clock before Tampa scored, Bowles blamed the secondary for the loss.
“We didn’t play good basic (football) or technique and we broke something that is day-to-day, and you can’t do that,” Bowles said.
The Texans moved to 4-4 with the stunning win and are in the thick of the playoff race
“If we had done what we had to do, we could have played fine in the zone (defense).”
Stroud, the second overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft, has made himself the frontrunner for Offensive Rookie of the Year with his stellar play thus far.
In eight games with the Texans, he has 2,270 passing yards, 14 touchdowns and just one interception.
With the win, the Texans moved to 4-4 and are surprisingly in the thick of the AFC playoff race, while the Buccaneers are now 3-5.