What We Saw: Preseason Week 3

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Buccaneers @ Texans

Final Score: Buccaneers 23, Texans 16

Writer: Justin Herrera (@Semtexmex93 on Twitter)

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are visiting the Houston Texans for their final preseason game of the year. We had the pleasure of seeing Tom Brady and the rest of the Super Bowl Champions suit up to play the consensus worst team in the league. Brady looked in midseason form on his three drives, getting all of his receiving corps involved and showing why he is still one of the best. On the Texans’ side, we didn’t get much of a fight until later on in the game when they capitalized off a couple of Buccaneers’ fumbles. Overall, Brady helped lead the Bucs to 13 of their 16 first-half points and the Bucs’ defense helped hold off the Texans. The final score was Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23, Houston Texans 16.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

| Preseason Week 1 | Preseason Week 2 |

Quarterback

Tom Brady: 11/14, 154 yards, TD

Kyle Trask: 12/14, 146 yards, TD | 4 carries, -4 yards

Blaine Gabbert: 4/10, 26 yards, INT | 1 carry

Tom Brady stepped onto the field for three drives on Saturday, looking like the same calm and composed G.O.A.T we all know and love/hate. The first drive of the game was a three and out, with Brady missing wide on a pass to Antonio Brown and Gio Bernard bobbling a pass. Brady started off his second drive strong, zipping passes of eight yards to Brown and a 9 and 11 yarder to Mike Evans. The seven-time champ went to work finding Chris Godwin for 28 yards, and a 24 yard TD two plays later.

Surgical.@TomBrady went 7/7 and hit @CGtwelve_ to finish off a 91-yard drive.@Buccaneers | #TBvsHOU pic.twitter.com/U1FTppfiFu

— NFL (@NFL) August 29, 2021

Brady’s third drive started deep in his own territory, but a 10-yard dart to Godwin that turned into a 35 yard gain put the Bucs back in good field position. After a 10 yard screen to Brown followed up by a 16 yard curl route by Brown, Ronald “Rojo” Jones pounded the rock in for a 13 yard TD run.

Blaine Gabbert needs to be the 3rd string QB if not just released altogether. He came in on the fourth drive and started out by getting sacked and then got picked off on the very next play. His woes didn’t end there, as on the very next series he fumbled a snap that resulted in a safety. His fourth and final drive was his most meaningful, as Gabbert came in with good field position after an interception. He threw it twice to Cameron Brate for a total of 18 yards, which helped set up a field goal for the Bucs.

Kyle Trask was the QB for the second half, and his first drive was stopped on the second play due to a miscue on the hand-off to Keshawn Vaughn. Trask’s second drive was much improved; He attacked the defense downfield with a 20 yard shot to Cyril Grayson and a 26-yard bomb to Jaelon Darden. The drive was topped off with a 20-yard dart to a wide-open Codey McElroy. After this drive, Trask fell back to Earth. He did have an absolutely beautiful pass that barely missed Grayson downfield. Other than that, he suffered a sack-fumble and coasted to a win. Though he wasn’t top-notch in this game, there should be no questions about who should be Brady’s backup…it’s Trask.

Running Back

Ronald Jones II: 4 carries, 27 yards, TD

Ke’Shawn Vaughn : 15 carries, 29 yards | 1 target

Leonard Fournette: 1 target, 1 carry, 3 yards

Ronald “Rojo” Jones looked explosive in his limited runs, he started the game off by getting blown up behind the line of scrimmage. The third drive was when we saw the Rojo we all want on our fantasy team, securing runs of 10 yards and seven yards before finishing it off with a beautiful 13 yard outside run that led to a TD.

Ke’Shawn Vaughn looked not so great against the 2nd and 3rd string defenders. One memorable play was on first down; Vaughn got blown up but kept his balance and was pushed forward for a 4 yard gain by Codey McElroy. Vaughn showed some potential later on by running nicely in between the tackles for a seven-yard gain, but overall he poses zero threat to the top backs on this roster.

.@rojo bounces it outside and exits stage right.

That @Buccaneers offense is humming. #TBvsHOU pic.twitter.com/1o2yDZjVbA

— NFL (@NFL) August 29, 2021

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Chris Godwin: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 84 yards, TD

Antonio Brown: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 42 yards

Jaelon Darden: 5 targets, 3 receptions, 35 yards

Codey McElroy: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 32 yards, TD

Jaydon Mickens: 3 targets, 2 reception, 22 yards

Cyril Grayson: 2 targets, 1 reception, 20 yards

Mike Evans: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 20 yards

Travis Jonsen: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 20 yards

Cameron Brate: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 18 yards

Tyler Johnson: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 16 yards

Tanner Hudson: 1 target, 1 reception, 7 yards

O.J. Howard: 1 target, 1 reception, 5 yards

Chris Godwin was in midseason form today, catching all three targets for big chunks of yards. He started off with a 28-yard deep ball, then followed it up with a short pass that he took to the house, breaking a tackle along the way. On the final drive for the starters, Godwin took a 10-yard dig route and turned upfield for an extra 25 yards, culminating in a 35-yard play. If this is a sign of things to come, then I expect we’re going to be seeing a lot of 2019 Chris Godwin this season.

Antonio Brown and Mike Evans had fine showings for their final preseason game. Brown in particular looks right at home in the slot and should be considered the most dangerous receiver at that position. He went for 48 yards on catches of eight, 10, and 16 yards apiece, averaging 12 yards per reception. His most impressive route was a 16 slant that seemed too easy for Brown to get open. Evans had two catches of nine and 11 yards and looked like he was locked in and ready for the 2021 season.

Jaelon Darden showed off his downfield talents, reeling in a 26-yard pass from Kyle Trask. We didn’t get to see much more on Darden, as he caught 2 more passes for nine yards. We got a chance to see him catch a screen pass for two yards, which is something he had tons of success with in college. Darden has shown his talents in the past and has probably secured a role on this team as a returner.

Some other players who stood out were Codey McElroy, who caught a wide-open 20 yard TD from Kyle Trask.

First NFL touchdown for @ktrask9 👏

📺: #TBvsHOU on WFLA pic.twitter.com/RAxlivqIg5

— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) August 29, 2021

McElroy was also responsible for Ke’Shawn Vaughn gaining 4 yards on a blown-up run. Tyler Johnson had a good spin move on a short route that he extended to a 10 yard gain. Cyril Grayson caught a 20-yard pass and missed out on another big gain from Trask. Overall, this was the best unit on the field for the Bucs and showcased quite a few talented guys that should be on either their practice squad or someone else’s.

Tom Brady hits Chris Godwin for the score! 🎯

How many TDs for this connection this season?

(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/eFNNcujMhM

— Rotoworld Football (@rotoworld_fb) August 29, 2021

Houston Texans

| Preseason Week 1 | Preseason Week 2 |

Quarterback

Tyrod Taylor: 6/9, 31 yards | 1 carry, 6 yards

Davis Mills: 10/27, 106 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT | 2 carries, 18 yards

Tyrod Taylor started the game for the Texans and didn’t show much. He scrambled for six yards and kept his passes short. Taylor’s longest competition was to Jordan Akins for nine yards. He ended up going out after a strip-sack, so that was it for Taylor.

Davis Mills came in and was just as if not more ineffective. He was consistently throwing into double coverages and not reading the field. Two of his interceptions were from his lack of awareness in seeing a defender within the vicinity of his receiver. Mills’ outing wasn’t without positives, however. He utilized a Bucs turnover and threw a nice pass down the middle to Nico Collins for an 11 yard TD. Mills led one more TD drive, starting it off with a 28-yard pass to Chris Moore. This led to a Jordan Veasy nine-yard TD pass from Mills. Overall, Houston seems hopeless with either QB, but at least with Mills they can push the ball downfield.

Running Back

Scottie Phillips: 8 carries, 73 yards

Mark Ingram II: 11 carries, 44 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 3 yards

David Johnson: 4 carries, 30 yards | 1 target

Philip Lindsay: 6 carries, 17 yards | 1 target

Buddy Howell: 4 carries, 16 yards

Rex Burkhead: 2 carries, 5 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 1 yard

If there was one good thing to write about for the Texans it was that their run game and the offensive line looked alright today against the best defense in the league. David Johnson made the most of his lone drive, peeling off a 21-yard run and finishing the day with 30 yards on four carries. Mark Ingram II was the 3rd down back called upon to get the one yard needed, and he also collected an 11-yard run and bumped outside for a seven-yarder. Both seem locked in for a role this season, but the one player I want to see more of is Scottie Phillips. Coming in to finish the game for the Texans, Phillips started his day with a 34 yard outside scamper. This wouldn’t be the last big play for the young back, as on the very next drive we saw Phillips run the ball four times in a row for 36 yards. The undrafted free agent has shown he’s worth a practice squad spot.

Scottie Phillips making the most out of his first carry of the night!@HoustonTexans | #TBvsHOU pic.twitter.com/LWHumGr1WS

— NFL (@NFL) August 29, 2021

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Chris Moore: 5 targets, 2 receptions, 40 yards

Alex Erickson: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 25 yards

Jordan Veasy: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 21 yards, TD

Nico Collins: 6 targets, 2 receptions, 16 yards, TD

Brevin Jordan: 3 targets, 1 reception, 11 yards

Jordan Akins: 2 targets, 1 reception, 9 yards

Keke Coutee: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 8 yards

Brandin Cooks: 2 targets, 1 reception, 3 yards

Nico Collins and Brandin Cooks are looking like the leads, and that’s a hard pill to swallow. Cooks got limited reps and tried to make something out of a screen pass for three yards. Collins stayed in a good amount of the game but had a couple of drops and doesn’t look ready to be a starter. Collins did catch an 11-yard pass from Davis Mills, but outside of that catch he had six targets and only caught two. Alex Erickson could be a good slot option for this team, catching two of three targets for 25 yards, coming in clutch with a 17-yard catch on third and 10.

The other receivers of note were Brevin Jordan who came in and caught one of three targets for 11 yards. Jordan Veasy also caught a nine-yard pass from Mills for a TD. Overall this unit is terrible and has no QB to make them better. They should be avoided if you’re drafting a team in fantasy football.