3 Bucs to watch in Week 16 vs. Texans

Though the Bucs are mowing through its final games with the momentum of a juggernaut, it comes at a high cost. The Bucs will face the Texans without both its Pro Bowl wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, thus facing a potent Houston offense without their top two weapons.

Tampa Bay picked a bad time to lose their offensive potency. The Texans have scored the fifth-most passing touchdowns in the league thanks to quarterback Deshaun Watson and arguably the AFC's best wide receiver duo, DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller.

To keep pace with Watson, Hopkins and Fuller, the Bucs will need to press on with what remains of their receiving corps and slow the Texans offense with solid play from its improving secondary.

Here are the three Bucs to watch in their match-up with the Texans:

TE O.J. Howard

Without Evans and Godwin, Bucs QB Jameis Winston will have to rely on one his least reliable targets this year, tight end O.J. Howard. His four drops, including one that led to an interception, are a reflection of Howard's uneven performance this season.

Nevertheless Howard is a force to be reckoned with. At 6'6" and 250 pounds, Howard is a mismatch regardless of where he lines up on the field. Though he only has one touchdown this season, his 12 career touchdowns speak for themselves.

This Saturday, Howard will have a chance to make up for lost time. With both Evans and Godwin out, the third-year tight end rises in passing pecking order. Jameis Winston didn't both mincing words about Howard's anticipated role (via the Athletic's Greg Auman):

Bucs QB Jameis Winston, likely without his top receivers this week, said he greeted tight ends O.J. Howard and Cam Brate by saying “Hey, y’all are going to get the rock.”
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) December 17, 2019

Howard has been targeted 18 times in the past three games, a nearly 50 percent increase from the three prior. His usage was already on the upswing, indicating greater trust from Winston and the coaching staff. In Houston, Howard could have himself his best game of the season.

CB Jamel Dean

The Bucs secondary began the 2019 season as a collection of inexperienced draft picks, ripe for the picking against NFL offenses. Fourteen games later, the once-green defensive backs are one of the hottest young defensive groups in the league, led by cornerbacks Carlton Davis and surprisingly rookie Jamel Dean.

Dean might be the Bucs' best defensive back after just a handful of games. He is allowing just 47.5 percent of passes targeting him to be completed, ninth-best of any NFL player, and he has recorded 16 pass breakups, which is a ridiculous 40 percent of passes targeting him and tied for fifth-most in the league.

The rookie corner will be tested against Houston's dangerous wide receiver corps. In addition to getting balls thrown to them from Deshaun Watson, the Texans' receiver group boasts catch machine Hopkins, who has 99 catches this year, and deep threats Fuller and Kenny Stills, who are averaging 9.6 and 11 yards per target.

Dean will likely end up guarding all three throughout the game. There is only so much a defensive back can do to slow down Hopkins, but preventing Fuller and Stills from getting open deep will be Dean's biggest challenge.

WR Breshad Perriman

Losing two Pro Bowl wide receivers should probably spell doom for a passing offense, but no one told that to Breshad Perriman. After losing Evans and Godwin over the last two games, the Bucs pass offense powered right on through last week's matchup with the Detroit Lions thanks to a career game by Perriman.

He caught five passes for 113 yards and three touchdowns, accounting for nearly a quarter of the Bucs' receiving yards and half of their points. His chemistry with Jameis Winston was obvious, dividends from months of work and early miscues.

Perriman will have another opportunity for big game this week against the Texans. Their defense is allowing 266 pass yards per game, fifth-most in the league, and their pass defense DVOA is 23.4 percent, sixth-lowest in the NFL. If Perriman can stay on the same page as Winston for another week, he can continue to put up big numbers down the stretch.