The Buccaneers may have ended up with their first loss of the season but I think the 'magic' is still there. Let's be honest, Fitzpatrick's performance was pretty horrible for most of the first half. Tampa fans started getting knots in their stomachs thinking 'here comes the Fitzpatrick we used to know.'
After putting that first L up on the board, I still think there is one big positive to take away from this loss against Pittsburgh at home. First of all, my hat is off to the Tampa defense. They began the game with a strong 3-and-out after the Steelers received the ball first.
Even though they may be a bit thin up front, they stepped up and had a great game including 9 QB hits and a total of 3 sacks, 2 of which came from University of South Florida grad JPP along with his forced fumble - welcome back to Tampa Jason (Go Bulls!). Gerald McCoy and Vinny Curry also shared a sack and LB Lavonte David came up big with 3 of 5 team tackles for loss.
On Pittsburgh's second possession, the D came thru with an interception by J Evans on an attempted pass to Smith-Schuster from Big Ben. Tampa went on to capitalize on this turnover with a TD pass from Fitzy to TE Brate putting the Bucs up 7 -0.
On the ensuing possession it took Roethlisberger only 3 plays to respond. Pittsburgh TE Vance McDonald caught a pass on the sideline then proceeded to put a nasty stiff arm to a Bucs defender forcing him to ground so he could scamper down the field for a 75 yard touchdown. Chris Boswell ended up muffing the PAT so Tampa was still on top 7 - 6.
After getting the ball back, Tampa was again forced to punt after 7 plays. Unfortunately, punting the ball would be the least of the worries for the Buccaneers for much of the match up to come.
The Steelers went on to gain another 3 points with a 38-yard field goal putting PIT on top at 9 - 7. It's at this point the turnover woes began for Tampa Bay. First off was a fumble from Chris Godwin after a pass from Fitzy on Tampa's second touch following the FG by Boswell. Big Ben would end up with another TD pass except this time to star receiver Antonio Brown for 27 yards and a 16 - 7 lead.
The Bucs gave up another two interceptions but Pittsburgh was thankfully unable to gain any points from the turnovers. However, Tampa gave up a third interception which resulted in a pick 6. It was looking grim for Fitzpatrick and Tampa at this point. The game went into the half but not before the Bucs scored on a FG and the Steelers were able to reach the end zone for another touchdown. Score at half: PIT 30 - 10 TB.
Fitzpatrick had a hill to climb in the second half, he would certainly need to summon the power of the beard and the Tampa fans were ready to help. It would be up to him to spark some magic and the defense to hold strong and that they did. Pittsburgh was held to 0 points for the second half which gave the Bucs a real shot at a comeback.Tampa was stopped short on their first possession and forced to kick a field goal. Pittsburgh then missed a FGA.
The Buccaneers went on to score on both of their next drives. First was a 63 yard drive ending with a short pass to Godwin for 4 yards. They forced PIT to punt again and Fitzy led the Bucs downfield on a 92 yard drive with top dog Mike Evans getting a 24 yard passing touchdown.
Pittsburgh was forced to punt again giving Tampa one last shot at what would've been an impressive second half comeback. The Bucs were forced to punt after a short 3-and-out sealing the victory for the Steelers.
We may have lost, but I feel our defense stepped up pretty big in this game and hopefully they continue to progress. Mike Evans did end up with a record night though, he now has the most receiving touchdowns in Buccaneers history with 35! Let's not forget Fitzpatrick. While he did have 3 INTs last night, he also threw for over 400 yards and 3 touchdowns for the THIRD straight game. The turnover troll may have poked his ugly head out but I think Fitzpatrick still has that magic. He'll have a chance to put it on display next Sunday in Chicago, given management doesn't make the stupid decision of starting Winston.
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