Monday Night Football Doubleheader: Game 1 sees thrilling first half

Rodney Knuppel

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Monday Night Football Doubleheader: Game 1 sees thrilling first half image

It's a Monday Night Football doubleheader. The game started earlier in Week 2 due to the second game being played on the West Coast.

Game one featured the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the road at the Houston Texans. Tampa Bay won its opener over Atlanta, while the Houston Texans fell to the Los Angeles Rams in their opener.

The first half of game 1 was a thrilling one. The Houston Texans marched down the field for a touchdown to start the game, with Nico Collins getting in the end zone.

Tampa Bay came right down the field and did the same thing. Baker Mayfield tossed his first touchdown pass of the night, going to Ryan Miller for 20 yards.

Houston settled for a field goal on their second drive, and went to the second quarter ahead of the Buccaneers 10-7.

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That's when Tampa Bay struck again. Rookie receiver Emeka Egbuka scored his third touchdown of the season, this time from 15 yards out from Mayfield to go ahead 14-10.

After the Texans were forced to punt on their next possession, Tampa Bay got the ball back with just over 7:30 left in the half. After a big penalty by Houston, they were able to get a stop and force Tampa Bay to punt. That's when Houston got the ball with 2:43 to go.

A couple of nice plays, but ultimately Tampa Bay picked up a big sack and forced Houston to punt the ball back. The Buccaneers got it back with 0:30 in the half. They were unable to get a first down, and the first half came to an end at 14-10.

Stroud went to halftime with 131 passing yards and a touchdown. Woody Marks led Houston with 37 receiving yards and had 11 rushing yards as well.

For Tampa, Bucky Irving had 41 rushing yards in the first half. Rachaad White added 25 on five carries. Mayfield had 109 passing yards and the two touchdowns. Egbuka was the top receiver with 29 yards.

The second game features the Los Angeles Chargers on the road at the Las Vegas Raiders.

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Rodney Knuppel

Rodney Knuppel is a freelance writer for The Sporting News. When not watching, listening or writing about sports, Rodney enjoys following the travels of his three kids, who are all active in their own sports and activities. A huge St. Louis Cardinals fan, Rodney also enjoys St. Louis Blues hockey and is a big Kansas Jayhawks basketball fan.