NFL: Houston 27, Tampa Bay 20

TAMPA, Fla., Sept. 4 (UPI) -- Rex Grossman threw two touchdown passes in the first half Friday and Houston held on for a 27-20 exhibition victory over Tampa Bay.

Grossman completed 9-of-17 passes for 197 yards while filling in for starter Matt Schaub.

Schaub sat out the game with a sprained ankle, but is expected to be ready for Houston's regular-season opener against the New York Jets.

Grossman threw second-quarter scoring passes of 87 yards to Jacoby Jones and 11 yards to rookie James Casey, giving the Texans a 14-3 lead. Kris Brown added two field goals and Andre Hall scored on a 1-yard run in the third period that came one play after a Tampa Bay turnover.

The Buccaneers, one of three NFL teams to have fired their offensive coordinator this week, rested starting quarterback Byron Leftwich.

Second-year quarterback Josh Johnson completed 12-of-21 passes for 182 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Houston completed its exhibition season at 2-2. Tampa Bay (1-3) will open its campaign at home against Dallas.