Texans offensive players Buccaneers should look out for on Monday Night Football

The Houston Texans aren’t perfect, but they’re a very solid football team. Despite losing to the Los Angeles Rams by a score of 14-9 in Week 1, the Texans — much like the Buccaneers — have high expectations for 2025.

The Texans have their fair share of weapons on both sides of the ball, each of which will require special attention by the Buccaneers as they look to move to 2-0 when these two teams square off on Monday Night Football. Let's take a look at the Texans' most important offensive players that will need to be held in check in order for Todd Bowles' defense to have success in this contest.

WR Nico Collins

Nico Collins has emerged as one of the NFL’s scariest No. 1 receivers. But if you play fantasy football, you’re already well aware of this. Collins regularly went off the board in the first round of fantasy drafts leading up to the 2025 regular season, and for good reason. Collins is an impressive athletic specimen. Listed at 6’4”, 222 pounds, the dynamic receiver who played his college ball at Michigan has great size to go with his 4.4 speed and vast catch radius. Now with a body of work to match his physical ability, Collins has launched himself into the elite tier of NFL wide receivers.

Despite only playing in 12 games last season, Collins still managed to exceed 1,000 yards and find the endzone 7 times. The year prior was his true breakout campaign, though, whereas his first two seasons were defined by instability at the QB position. The addition of C.J. Stroud in 2023 saw Collins erupt for 1,297 yards on 80 catches to go along with 8 TDs.

With just 3 receptions for 25 yards in his first game of the year vs. the Rams, you better believe that Nico Collins will be eager to make more of an impact in this game than he did in Week 1. It’s all but guaranteed that Collins be targeted early and often at home on Monday Night Football.

QB C.J. Stroud

As a rookie in 2023, C.J. Stroud took the league by storm as he led the Houston Texans to their first playoff victory in four years before eventually taking home the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award at season’s end. Although Stroud doesn’t have the biggest arm and is not the most athletic, his poise in the pocket, combined with his ability to throw with touch, accuracy and anticipation, is what makes him such a talented player. With 43 TD passes to just 17 interceptions over his first two pro seasons, Stroud has proven that taking care of the football comes naturally to him.

Coming off a disappointing Week 1 performance where Stroud threw for just 188 yards with 1 interception and 0 TDs, there’s no question that the Texans’ franchise quarterback will be looking to bounce back when the Buccaneers come to town on Monday night. However, as a natural passer who prefers to stand and deliver from the cozy confines of a clean pocket, Stroud could be facing some real challenges with the Texans’ OL looking like a major weakness.

Final Thoughts

The Houston Texans will be relying heavily on their defense this season. However, they still have weapons on offense that will require special attention. Of those players, WR Nico Collins and QB CJ Stroud stand alone atop the priority list. With defensive-minded head coach Todd Bowles having a little extra time to prepare for this primetime matchup on Monday Night Football, you better believe the Buccaneers will have a clear plan for limiting the impact that these two players have for the Texans. If that plan isn't executed by the players on the field, however, then the Buccaneers could be in trouble.

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