Monday, 4 a.m.
As the Bucs' season swirls down the drain, all the remains is the realization of just what happened to them on Sunday.
C.J. Stroud happened,
Lousy defense happened.
The Houston Texans happened. They had the last comeback, the more resilient locker room and the better quarterback.
The Bolts are now 0-3-1 on the road this season.
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Stroud, the fabulus rookie from Ohio State, led the Houto Texas on a-75-yard drive in the final 46 secons of the game Sunday, lefting the Texans to a 39-37 victory.
Stroud, who threw for an incredible 470 yards and five touchdowns, hit Tank Dell with six seconds to play.
Houston won despite having an injured kicker, cvirtually no running game and 115 yards in penalties.
Scroud hit 19 passes of 10 yards or more, including four of 20 ormore.
It was enough to beat a sputtering Bucs team. The Bucs cornerbacks didn't make a lot of plays, adn the pass rush didn't have a second-half sack.
The Bucs are now in third place in the NFC South and sinking. They ran a hair bettere than normal, but they didn't cover, and the pass rush was intermittent. They had just 19 yards in the third quarter.
Despite it all, the Bucs took a 37-33 lead with a comeback of hteir own. Baker Mayfield didn't have a great day, but he led the Bucs' into the lead with a 61-yard., hitting Cadee Ottten on a 14-yard pass. Mayfield had a key run on fourth-and-two.
Stroud was unflappable, however. He found Noah Brown for 153 yrds, Dalton Schultz for 130 and Dell for 114.
Mayfield ended up with 265 yards passing. Rachaad White ran for 79 yards.
The Bucs are home against Tennessee Sunday at 1 p.m.