Do you believe in talent? Do you believe in experience? Do you believe in being due?
If so, you probably like the Bucs this week against Houston.
But if you believe in momentum. If you believe in home-field advantage. If you believe in youthful energy.
In that case, you probably like the Texans.
And that’s the thing about Sunday’s game. If you twist it, and shape it, and look at it from different angles , you can convince yourself that either team is going to win. The Texans have won back-to-back home games against New Orleans and Pittsburgh. They have the look of a team on the rise.
The Bucs, meanwhile, have lost three straight and seem to be on the verge of trouble.
That’s why this game won’t be the layup that some people might have envisioned after two weeks of the season when the Bucs were undefeated and the Texans were winless.
The thing is that the Texans don’t figure to do a lot offensively. That means that the Bucs can win with 21 points (Carolina had only 15 in last week’s win over Houston).
Can the Bucs (wavering just over 12 points a game in its last three) score that? Can they finally run a little? Can Mike Evans hold onto the ball? Can the Bucs’ secondary hold up? Can the team escape this funk of drops, penalties and turnovers?
Based on the season that we have seen, no one knows.
Prediction: Houston 17, Tampa Bay 15.
In other NFL games:
Kansas City 24, Miami 21.
Philadelphia 31, Dallas 20.
New Orleans 34, Chicago 14.
Baltimore 27, Seattle 23.
Minnesota 24, Atlanta 20.
And in the college games:
Memphis 39, USF 13.
Alabama 27, LSU 26.
Clemson 24, Notre Dame 21.
Florida 28, Arkansas 24.
FSU 30, Pitt 14.