PITTSBURGH — Just when all hope seemed lost for the Steelers, every player on the team made a contribution and they shocked the NFL world — or at least their own fan base — with a 20-18 upset of the Buccaneers at Acrisure Stadium.
It’s hard to overstate the bounce-back victory, given that the Steelers went into Sunday fresh off a 38-3 rout at Buffalo and missing four of their top five defensive backs. Then they watched starting quarterback Kenny Pickett get knocked out of the game with a concussion midway through the third quarter, only for Mitch Trubisky to pick up the slack and complete 9 of 12 passes for 144 yards and a score.
Guys like James Pierre, Josh Jackson and Quincy Wilson were thrust into the spotlight but held their own against none other than Tom Brady, who threw for just 243 yards and one touchdown on 25 of 40 passing.
— It was over when: Trubisky moved the chains on a quarterback sneak to pick up the final first-down needed for the Steelers following the two-minute warning.
— Player of the game: Chase Claypool. Hard to pick just one in a win that was such a team effort, but Claypool made just about every big play down the stretch for the offense. And bonus points for being the first Steelers wide receiver to catch a touchdown pass this season. Claypool finished with seven receptions for 96 yards. You could’ve also given the nod to Larry Ogunjobi, Alex Highsmith, Cam Heyward, Trubisky or ...
— Trending up: Steven Sims. Not every return went smoothly, but the Steelers finally had some juice on special teams with Sims running back punts and kicks. His 89-yard kickoff return to start the second half set up a field goal, and he also had a juking 24-yard punt return later in the third quarter to help the battle for field position. That mattered in this one, and it sure seems Sims has made Gunner Olszewski expendable.
— Trending down: Kevin Dotson. The Steelers left guard was penalized twice in the first half, once for a false start and once for holding, then forgot to line up in his spot for a field goal attempt. That forced the Steelers to burn a timeout before Chris Boswell’s 55-yarder. To make matters worse, Dotson was flagged for holding again midway through the third quarter, negating a first-down catch by Diontae Johnson and the throw by Pickett that got him knocked out of the game.
— Next up: The Steelers play their second of five prime-time games — and first on Sunday night — with a trip to sunny south Florida to face the Dolphins, who will have starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa back after he missed the past two games with a concussion.
