At 0-3, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will come to Heinz Field on Sunday to try getting in the win column against the Pittsburgh Steelers (2-1), who come off an impressive victory over another NFC South team, the Carolina Panthers, last Sunday night.
Tampa Bay, led by first-year head coach Lovie Smith, has had ten days to regroup from an embarrassing 56-14 defeat at the hands of the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2 in front of a national Thursday Night Football audience. The Bucs are 0-1 on the road, have scored only 15 points per game and have allowed nearly 32 points per game, losing the first two games this season by margins of six and two before the six-touchdown disaster last week.
Pittsburgh, meanwhile, leads the league in rushing with 163.3 yards per game after Le’Veon Bell and LeGarrette Blount each had 100-yard games in the 37-19 win on Sunday Night Football at Carolina. Tampa ranks 21st against the rush and 23rd against the pass, while Pittsburgh and QB Ben Roethlisberger boast an 11th ranked air attack. The Buccanneer passing game has been woeful, led by the injured Josh McCown and backup Mike Glennon, who is expected to start Sunday. Ranking last in the NFL with just 163.3 yards per game, Glennon will get to go up against a Steelers defense that lost cornerback Ike Taylor to a broken arm last week. The Steelers pass rush will also be without rookie Ryan Shazier as well as he recovers from a knee injury.
Tampa Bay running back Doug Martin will return after missing the last two games, gaining just nine yards on nine carries in the season opener before leaving the game due to injury. That was just the beginning of an avalanche of trouble for the Buccaneers in the early portion of the 2014 season. A points margin of minus-50 is the second-worst in the NFL, with only Jacksonville worse through three games. Pittsburgh plays Jacksonville next week, so the next two games appear on paper to be a great opportunity to be 4-1 to open the season.
The matchup is a good one for a defense that is banged up and will be relying on injury replacements including the recently-signed James Harrison, who may see some time at linebacker in a system he is quite used to playing in under long-time defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau. Sean Spence and Arthur Moats will fill in for Shazier, as well. William Gay will fill in for Taylor on the corner.
Entering the weekend, Pittsburgh is tied with Baltimore in the AFC North standings at 2-1, ahead of Cleveland by one game, and trailing undefeated Cincinnati (3-0). The Steelers have an 8-1 edge over Tampa Bay all-time, including wins in all four meetings since the turn of the century.
When: Sunday, September 28, 2014 – 1:00 pm EST
Where: Heinz Field – Pittsburgh, PA
Watch: FOX (Thom Brennaman, David Diehl)
Spread: Steelers by 7.5 (via Bovada)
Last Meeting: Steelers defeated Buccaneers 38-10 at Tampa Bay in 2010
Keys for Pittsburgh:
1) Dominate on the ground, in total yardage and time of possession. All statistics through the first three games trend very much in favor of the Steelers in these areas. The Pittsburgh offense has out-gained the Tampa offense 419-271 so far…no reason to reverse that trend in Week 4.
2) Let Heath Miller join the party. The veteran tight end has 11 catches on just 15 targets for 112 yards and no touchdowns. If he gets more involved in the passing game, it will likely take some defensive focus off of Antonio Brown (who is dominating anyways) and create another first down threat for Todd Haley’s offense.
3) Prove defensive depth and successfully replace Taylor and Shazier, starting with a dominant performance against a poor offense. The schedule-makers may have really helped the Steelers get through these early injuries but, of course, the players on the field must execute and produce a victory.
Keys for Tampa Bay:
1) Get the Muscle Hamster going…Doug Martin’s colorful nickname was earned when he had a great 2013 season, but he has yet to do anything this year despite being a consensus top-ten fantasy football selection. Tampa Bay will be desperate for something, anything to go right on offense.
2) Tackle on contact when Bell or Blount have the football. These two backs have averaged 5.9 and 7.8 yards per carry, respectively, because defenses have been unable to bring them down on initial contact. And watch out, because Blount might just try to hurdle you.
3) Show up early or it will be a long, loud day at Heinz Field. Steelers fans suffered through six ugly quarters at the end of the Cleveland game and all of the Baltimore game, but have reasons to be optimistic again as they try to root the hometown team on to a 3-1 record. It will be a beautiful day in Pittsburgh and the seats should be full.
Prediction: Doug Martin has the ability to get Tampa Bay going early and keep them in this game, but the Steelers offense is looking healthy and bountiful. Dri Archer is healthy again as well and may be used as an additional weapon, especially on special teams. Pittsburgh should win if they are focused and on top of its game…Steelers 30, Buccaneers 10
