Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Pittsburgh Steelers preview, predictions, betting odds, live stream info
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
The 2-1 Pittsburgh Steelers earned an impressive 37-19 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday night and will look to improve to 3-1 when they play host to the 0-3 Tampa Bay Buccaners on Sunday afternoon.
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The Steelers looked inept in a 26-6 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in week two but rolled up 454 yards against one of the league’s elite defenses Sunday led by Ben Roethlisberger (22-of-30 for 196 yards and two touchdowns), Le’Veon Bell (21 carries, 147 yards) and Antonio Brown (10 receptions, 90 yards, two touchdowns).
The Buccaneers are just looking to forget about their 56-14 embarrassing loss to the Atlanta Falcons last week and will be turning to second-year quarterback Mike Glennon to do it after veteran Josh McCown injured his thumb.
Buccaneers vs. Steelers viewing information:
Date: September 28, 2014
Start Time: 1:00 pm EST
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Stadium: Heinz Field
TV Info: Fox/NFL Sunday Ticket
Live Stream: NFLSundayTicket.TV
Radio: NFL Audio Pass
Ticket information: For Buccaneers ticket information, click here. For Steelers ticket information, click here.
Keys to Victory
The Steelers would like to keep rolling on offense and could be in for another big night against a Buccaneers’ team that was absolutely torched last week. Of course, the Buccaneers were without Gerald McCoy, who may be the game’s defensive tackle, in their loss to the Falcons. Getting him back would go a long way towards improving that defense (McCoy returned to practice this week and the Buccaneers expect him to play). One of the Buccaneers’ prized free agent signings, defensive end Michael Johnson, is also expected to return after missing last week’s game with an ankle injury.
Last week, the Steelers got back to their traditional ways of running the ball last week. Not only did Bell have 147 yards but Lagarrette Blount rushed for 118 yards on 10 carries. The Buccaneers will now have to respect the run and that could allow Roethlisberger to exploit the Buccaneers’ secondary, which has already lost cornerback Mike Jenkins for the season.
The Buccaneers are dead last in passing yardage so far, which is completely unacceptable for a team that features Vincent Jackson and rookie Mike Evans (Jackson has a small fracture in his right wrist but is practicing and plans to play). The Buccaneers are also expecting running back Doug Martin (left knee) to return. If Glennon can show improvement from McCown, the Buccaneers may be able to stay in the game. If not, it could be another long day and the Buccaneers will almost certainly be staring at 0-4.
Betting Odds
Point Spread: Pittsburgh -7.5
Moneyline: TB, +290, Pit -345
O/U: 44.5
Prediction
The Buccaneers gave an absolutely awful performance last week and the Steelers played their best game of the young season so it’d be easy to pick the Steelers to roll. However, with McCoy and Johnson back in the fold, the Buccaneers’ defense should be much better than the unit they threw out Thursday night (how could it not be?). With that being said, the Buccaneers simply don’t enough on either side of the ball to beat the Steelers unless the breaks (turnovers) go their way.
Final Score: Steelers 27, Buccaneers 13