All eyes were on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as they risked their run against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Most of the attention was on quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick of the Bucs but it was Ben Roethlisberger of the Steelers who had the last laugh.
The Steelers foiled the Bucs, 30-27, thanks mainly to the efficient passing of Roethlisberger paired with a defensive performance even if the score doesn’t seem to show that. But for those who were able to see the game, the Steelers forced the Bucs to four turnovers with Fitzpatrick getting sacked three times, CBS Sports said. Pittsburgh held the Bucs to just two scores on five trips to the red zone and yielded only 63 yards on the ground.
Although a win is a win, the fact remains that the game was not a flawless one. Proof of that is that the team, as a whole, took a ridiculous 13 penalties for 155 yards, including several that extended drives and/or kept the Buccaneers in the game.
They were, however, able to hold on and keep the ball in the air to safeguard their lead and enough to fend off the efforts of Fitzpatrick who led his team to 17 fourth-quarter points to make the game close, the Oregon Live said.
With the Bucs sent spiraling back to earth, all Tampa Bay can do right now is look ahead and forget about the unfortunate loss. One issue that needs to be addressed is the quarterback issue.
According to coach Dirk Koetter, it remains to be seen if Fitzpatrick will still be their starter or Jameis Winston. The 24-year-old has served out his suspension Tuesday morning. The quarterback was penalized for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy last June, NFL.com said.
"I did talk to both Jameis and Fitz and it was great to see Jameis back in the building. He was here early and working hard. We're glad to have him. He assured me that he's ready to go, which I don't doubt for a minute that he's been working hard," said coach Koeter.
So far, the 14-year-old veteran has thrown a total of 400 yards the last three games. However, he struggled against the defense of the Steelers – apparently because Pittsburgh had scouted and prepared a good defensive matrix to frustrate the Bucs.
Rather than the loss, most are interested to know who will start for the Bucs at Week 4. They will face the Chicago Bears on Sunday, Sept. 30.
