Big Ben and his Pittsburgh Steelers dropped to 2-2 yesterday to a winless (not anymore) Tampa Bay squad. Roethlisberger put up some good numbers on offense, but the Steelers couldn't convert on third down late in the fourth quarter. The winning drive saw Bucs QB Mike Glennon connect with Louis Murphy for 41 yards and set up Vincent Jackson to score the winning touchdown to beat the penalty prone Pittsburgh Steelers 27-24.
Tampa coach Lovie Smith should be ecstatic over their first win of the season. And he is (via Boston Globe):
"I was out last year, so it's been a long time since I've tasted winning a game. For our football team, we needed this. We made so many mistakes out there, but we found a way to win. That was a hurdle we needed to get over."
Much was said today of Pittsburgh's sloppy play, but there were still glimpses of the high-powered offense that the Steelers are capable of (via New York Daily News):
"Pittsburgh recovered to score 17 straight points, doing whatever it wanted when it managed to avoid penalty flags... It didn't last. Tampa Bay's comeback ruined Pittsburgh's chance to move to 3-1 for the first time since 2010, when the Steelers won the AFC championship."
Pittsburgh even wove a few neat trick plays into their hard-hitting two back scheme, including a reverse to set up a screen to LeVeon Bell, and a flea flicker to Antonio Brown. Brown let the ball slip through his fingers, though, a rare miss.
The Steelers have a lot going for them on both sides of the ball, including an ever-expanding offensive playbook with new wrinkles and looks every week. But if they want to get to the Super Bowl again, they have to play better in the fourth quarter.
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