Steelers Sink Bucs but lose Captain

Image Courtesy of: Joe Sargent Getty Images

The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20-18 on Sunday, snapping a four-game losing streak. The Steelers however didn’t escape the Bucs without some holes in their ship.

To start the Steeler’s secondary was pretty much all but injured. They played the entire game with mostly second and third-string players. To make matters worse, rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett left in the middle of the third quarter after taking a hit from Bucs linebacker Devin White.

Pickett was later diagnosed with a concussion and would not return to the game. Mitch Trubisky (whom he replaced two weeks ago) game in relief of the injured rookie. Mitch completed 9 of 12 passes and threw for a touchdown in the late stages of the game.

The story of the day was the Steeler defense holding Tampa to four field goals and only one touchdown. But one of the biggest plays of the day was when Tampa went for two to try and tie the game at 20. Devin Bush stepped up big and deflected a Tom Brady pass intended for Chris Goodwin. Another player who stepped up big was Chase Claypool. He finished the afternoon with 7 receptions, 96 yards, and 1 touchdown. He and Trubisky collaborated for two huge third-down conversations in the final minutes of the game. Claypool also scored a touchdown earlier in the 4th quarter to increase the Steeler’s lead to 19-12.

But Tom Brady being Tom Brady marched his team right down the field and scored a touchdown to cut the lead to two. And that’s when the former number 10 overall pick stepped up to help his team win. Brady finished what could be his final game in Pittsburgh with 243 yards, 1 touchdown, and 25/40 passes completed.

Pittsburgh will most likely have to go into Miami next week without Kenny Pickett. He will need to clear the concussion protocol before he can return. But even if we were to be cleared, he would only have a day or two to prepare for the Dolphin’s defense. Expect Trubisky to start and Mason Rodolph to back him up in Pickett’s absence. Rodolph has yet to suit up for the Steelers this season and could be on the trade block when the deadline hits.

The Dolphins have had a rough couple of weeks without their quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. The young quarterback has been the center of controversy in the NFL’s concussion protocol. He has been sidelined with a concussion since week 4. He can’t return soon enough since the Dolphins have had a losing streak of their own and have been outscored 64-33 in that span.

Both teams will are still in must-win situations even if they don’t have their preferred quarterbacks.