Week 2 represents a big opportunity for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Not only do they get a shot at beating the Houston Texans on the road on Monday Night Football, but the rest of the NFC South are underdogs in their respective matchups. Sure, the Bucs are -2.5 point ‘dogs themselves, but they’ll be 2-0 and the rest of the division will be 0-2 if they can pull off the upset.

But games obviously have to be played before all that comes to fruition.

Last week, the Bucs offense managed to score 23 points against the Atlanta Falcons despite inconsistent play for most of the game, but it faces a much tougher test in the Texans defense.

So, what do Baker Mayfield and Co. need to do in order to ensure the Bucs get another big road win? Let’s dive in and discuss.

Baker Mayfield has to be better, plain and simple

Mayfield threw three touchdowns against the Falcons and made some clutch plays with his legs, but even he’ll tell you he needs to be better in terms of an overall evaluation. He missed quite a few throws and wasn’t as patient as he could’ve been in some instances.

Patience and execution are absolutely required if he wants to have success against the Texans defense, so that has to be on display Monday night in order for the Bucs passing game to have success.

It’s not going to be easy. The Texans secondary is one of the most talented units in the NFL and it boasts a top-3 cornerback in Derek Stingley Jr. It wouldn’t be crazy to call him the best corner in the league, either.

“I think [Derek] Stingley [Jr.] is an amazing player,” Emeka Egbuka told reporters after Thursday’s practice. “[They have] safeties who come downhill, they hit, they make tackles. From watching film, the way that they play the game from the top-down, they play the game with emphatic energy. They play as a unit, so we have to match that as a team.

“I have no concerns about the way that we play the game — we play the game very hard — I think it is going to be a traditional football matchup in that sense.”

“They have a very ball-hawking secondary,” Todd Bowles told reporters. “They keep eyes on the quarterback at all times. From [Jalen] Pitre, the nickel, to the two outside guys to the edge rushers that make the ball come out. They’re very in sync. Demeco [Ryans] does a great job and makes sure those guys are going 100 miles an hour at all times.”

It’s not all going to be on Mayfield’s shoulders, by any means. But he has to be on-point because the Texans defense will give him absolutely nothing and will make him earn everything.

The Bucs might have to reshuffle the offensive line, again

If there’s ever a game to be won from the inside-out, it’s this one. The Bucs offensive line has to hold its own this week or else the chances of winning this game will drop dramatically.

The Bucs trotted out an unexpected lineup against the Falcons and it worked pretty well, overall. The front five faces a much tougher front this week, however, and it could also be without starting right tackle Luke Goedeke, who missed Thursday’s practice with a foot issue.

If Goedeke can’t go, the Bucs offensive line will likely shape up as follows: Graham Barton at left tackle, Mike Jordan at left guard, Ben Bredeson at center, Cody Mauch at right guard, and then Charlie Heck at right tackle. Bowles floated the possibility of Tristan Wirfs playing Monday, but that remains to be seen.

Look, it worked last week, but that’s not an ideal situation against the combination of Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson on the outside. The interior defensive line was solid against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 1, as well, so it’s not just those two guys.

“Anytime you play a team like this that has two bonafide studs on the edge, you game plan for them,” Baker Mayfield told reporters Thursday. “You understand that the protection on some things – when you’re trying to push the ball down the field – you’re going to need extra guys in there, whether it’s chip block or different things like that, double teams. So, you know where they’re at at all times.”

Even if Goedeke plays, it’s going to be an enormous challenge. The Texans defense plays fast and disciplined and seems to always be in the right spots. The offensive line -with whomever is on the field- has to make sure it gets the job done on Monday Night.

The Bucs’ running game has to work in order to allow Baker Mayfield to effectively use play-action against the Texans defense

Look, I’m a firm believer in you don’t have to be tearing it up on the ground in order for play-action to work effectively. When called correctly, it can be used at almost anytime during a game.

That won’t work against the Texans defense, though. The unit is too well-coached to where it won’t fall for play-action, too much, unless the offense is the ball effectively, at minimum.

The Rams tore the Texans up in the play-action category last Sunday to the tune of a 9-of-10 for 108 yards and a touchdown on 11 dropbacks, per Sports Info Solutions. Sean McVay made the calls at the right time and it worked great – the only negative was a sack thanks to a well-timed blitz from DeMeco Ryans, himself.

For instance the first two attempts were completed but generated a measly four yards because the Rams hadn’t gotten anything going on the ground, yet. But, McVay called the plays on 1st and 10 – the one, true neutral down where it’s a 50/50 shot of run or pass. That’s what I meant earlier about when the play is called. Sure, it didn’t generate a ton of yardage, but the process regarding the correct down to make the call was there.

By the time Matthew Stafford hit Xavier Smith down the right sideline for a 36-yard gain off play-action, the Rams had gotten the running game going enough to where the call worked. After that, it was a 13-yard touchdown to Davis Allen off play-action, a 14-yard screen to Blake Corum off play-action, and so on and so forth. Even Puka Nacua’s 24-yard catch that iced the game came off play-action.

The Bucs showed against the Falcons they aren’t shy when it comes to using play-action. Baker Mayfield was 10th in usage before Thursday’s game between the Washington Commanders and Green Bay Packers. But it’ll be useless if Bucky Irving and Rachaad White aren’t effective and again, that mostly depends on what the front five can do.