Pittsburgh Steelers (2-4) – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-3): 20-18
What a surprise in Pittsburgh! Depopulated in defense then deprived of their titular quarterback during the match, the Steelers went for a mental victory against the Buccaneers.
The image is necessarily this last laborious but “victorious” drive from Pittsburgh where Mitch Trubisky (9/12, 144 yards, 1TD) managed to keep the leather for more than 4 minutes thanks in particular to two huge passes on 3rd attempts .
Chase Claypool 🥵#TBvsPIT #HereWeGo
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— DNA of Sports.com – NFL News 🏈 (@DNA of Sports) October 16, 2022
Stalkers in defense and clutch when necessary in attack, the locals surprised Tampa with a Tom Brady (25/40, 243 yards, 1TD) next to his match.
iron curtains
In this disputed and defensive first half, the Steelers join the locker room in the lead (10-9) thanks to a surprising defense and some key actions in attack.
Unsurprisingly, everything was not perfect in attack (3 punts), but Kenny Pickett (11/18, 67 yards, 1TD) was able to lead his people on two big series with the key to a field goal and a touchdown on the first drive with more than 6 minutes of possession and 11 actions. At the conclusion for the touchdown, Najee Harris on a short pass from his quarterback in a perfectly drawn game.
The surprise comes rather from Tampa Bay and Tom Brady. The Buccaneers’ offense was limited by the imprecision of its quarterback and an inability to conclude in the red zone. Twice, the visitors had to settle for a field goal in the opposing field. Tampa adds a field goal just before halftime (10-9) on what may have been the most “punchy” drive of this attack with around thirty yards in 20 seconds.
If we expected to see the defense of Tampa Bay pose concerns for the rookie quarterback of the Steelers, the opposite seemed less obvious with the rain of injured side Pittsburgh in the defensive back. But the front-seven manages to put enough pressure on number 12 to make him doubt.
Pittsburgh and Trubisky hold their ground
Thanks to a huge return of commitment, the Steelers resume the game on the opposing 12 yards. However Kenny Pickett cannot find his colleagues and the team has to settle for a field goal (13-9). We then think that the locals may have missed their chance.
On the Tampa side, we start again at the same pace as in the first half. If the attack advances, it still stalls in the zone of truth and takes a new kick (13-12) after a series of 14 games…
While the Steelers and Trubisky (entered the game after the first series of the second half) no longer gave the impression of advancing, the QB managed a few big passes including one for Chase Claypool (7rec, 96 yards, 1TD) , found in the endzone, which allows the Steelers to lead 20 to 12 with 10 minutes remaining!
Mitch Trubisky finds Chase Claypool on a tight pass. Pittsburgh takes off #TBvsPIT #HereWeGo
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— DNA of Sports.com – NFL News 🏈 (@DNA of Sports) October 16, 2022
But Tampa and Tom Brady have seen other things. This is the moment chosen by the team to achieve its best drive, including twice successful 4th attempts, and finally score a touchdown through Leonard Fournette. At 20-18, the Buccs logically try the 2-point conversion but fail again before the heroic defense of the Steelers.
Behind, Trubisky does what it takes to keep the leather and see the clock go down to 0 to win to everyone’s surprise!
