Pittsburgh Steelers: 3 Standouts from Week 3 vs. Buccaneers
On Monday night, the Pittsburgh Steelers got their first win of the season with a 30-27 victory at Tampa Bay. Who excelled for Mike Tomlin’s team?
The Pittsburgh Steelers have reached the playoffs each of the past four seasons and after two weeks of play were looking for their first win of 2018. On the other hand, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2010. But the franchise has not reached the postseason since winning the NFC South in 2007.
Are these two teams headed in opposite directions? Not necessarily. But the Black and Gold were back in Tampa, the site of the team’s Super Bowl XLIII victory over the Arizona Cardinals 10 years earlier. And Mike Tomlin’s team looked like a desperate club as they looked to cool off one of the hottest quarterbacks in the league in veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick.
After giving up the first touchdown of the game, Pittsburgh responded with 23 consecutive points thanks to a pair of touchdown passes by Ben Roethlisberger to tight end Vance McDonald (75 yards) and wide receiver Antonio Brown (27 yards), as well as a 10-yard interception return by outside linebacker Bud Dupree. All told, Tomlin’s club owned a 30-10 advantage at intermission.
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But there would be some anxious moments for the Black and Gold in the second half. While the Steelers failed to score another point, the Bucs responded with 17 straight and narrowed the lead to three points with 5:43 to play. But the Pittsburgh defense made plays when it has to down the stretch and Tomlin’s squad held on for a 30-27 triumph.
So which three players stood out for the Steelers in the Monday night win? There’s an obvious choice when it comes to No. 1.