TAMPA, Fla. — Winning overshadows all drama. The Steelers said it all week, then proved it to be true — barely — with a performance that, at least temporarily, quells swirling concern in Pittsburgh.
Ben Roethlisberger was brilliant in a 30-27 win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football, and the defense coupled its quarterback’s best road performance in years with a four-turnover night.
Most of the positives came in the first half. The second half was a near-implosion thanks to the Bucs’ 17 unanswered points and the Steelers’ barrage of mental mistakes.
Fitzmagic morphed back into Ryan Fitzpatrick, then back to Fitzmagic late, but a defense that looked woefully unprepared in Week 2 against Kansas City got to the quarterback early.
Instead of panicking over a winless start through two games, the Steelers — winners of six straight on Monday Night Football — hunkered down and stuck to their plan.
Roethlisberger said during the week he would try to set a tone, and 353 yards later, the Steelers offense can imagine the possibilities. Decisive and aggressive, Roethlisberger completed 26 of his first 31 passes and 30-of-38 overall, including a sidearm, falling-down dime to JuJu Smith-Schuster in the final minutes to seal the game.
Roethlisberger starts a season with back-to-back-to-back games of 300 or more yards for the first time in his career, thanks in part to a masterful two-minute drill to end the first half. With 1:17 left, Roethlisberger smoothly completed 8-of-9 passes for 75 yards and a 1-yard touchdown to Ryan Switzer.
Without much of a running game, Roethlisberger and the passing offense has more than 800 yards over two weeks.
The offensive lineup is coming into focus with Vance McDonald as the lead tight end and a four-receiver lineup of Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Washington and Switzer. The running game was averaging 2.3 yards per carry before James Conner broke off runs of 27 and nine yards to set up a game-winning score.
Imagine if Le’Veon Bell was in the mix.
The offense wanted to utilize McDonald’s speed to offset Tampa’s speedy linebackers. McDonald used that speed after he trucked safety Chris Conte with an open-field stiff arm on his way to a 75-yard touchdown in the first quarter.
On defense, cornerbacks wanted to keep Tampa Bay playmakers in front of them, avoiding the chunk gains and reducing mental errors. The defense is at its best when rushing the passer and creating turnovers. Sacking Fitzpatrick three times and creating four turnovers (three interceptions, one fumble) offset Fitzpatrick’s big yardage day.
Poor discipline led to 115 penalty yards in the first half, the franchise’s most in a half over the past 15 years. Too many Bucs were running free late, including Mike Evans going untouched for a 24-yard touchdown with 4:23 left. And Darrius Heyward-Bey‘s illegal shift on a punt that the Steelers downed at the Bucs’ 1 was inexcusable.
But the resiliency that won the Steelers 13 games was on display on the road. It’s a start.