Buccaneers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers 
LOSS - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 07 Pittsburgh Steelers 17
With Brad Johnson sidelined, backup quarterback Shaun King started against the Steelers on Monday night. Tampa Bay was rocked 17–7 by the visiting Steelers, the second consecutive season being beaten soundly at home by Pittsburgh.
The night started out on a rough note even before kickoff, as during pre-game warm-ups Warren Sapp skipped through the Steelers. Jerome Bettis shoved Sapp, and this was followed by a heated argument between the two teams. The Buccaneers had also been ridiculed by Steelers' Lee Flowers as being "paper champions."
On the first play of the game, Tommy Maddox's pass to Plaxico Burress gained 41 yards to the Tampa Bay 40-yard line. The Steelers drove 81 yards in only six plays, as Maddox connected with Antwaan Randle El for an 11-yard touchdown. On the second play of Tampa Bay's first drive, King was intercepted by Chad Scott, who returned the ball 30 yards for a touchdown, and a 14–0 lead less than four minutes into the game.
Trailing 17–0, Tampa Bay kicker Martín Gramática made a 50-yard field goal, but it was negated by a Pittsburgh penalty, and instead Tampa Bay was awarded a first down at the Pittsburgh 28-yard line. Four plays later, however, Mike Alstott lost a fumble at the 7-yard line, and the Steelers took a 17–0 lead into halftime.
Shaun King was finally benched having thrown a pitiful 9-for-26, an interception, and only 73 yards passing. Rob Johnson took over in the second half, and salvaged the remainder of the game. With 1:23 to go, Keyshawn Johnson caught a touchdown pass, and avoided the shutout.
GAMEDAY BRIEF
OFFICALS
- REFEREE: Larry Nemmers
- UMPIRE: Chad Brown
- HEAD LINESMAN: Dale Williams
- LINE JUDGE: Gary Arthur
- SIDE JUDGE: Carl Cheffers
- BACK JUDGE: Kirk Dornan
- FIELD JUDGE: Jeff Lamberth
- REPLAY OFFICAL: Jim Blackwood
- VIDEO OPERATOR: not documented
SCORING
- STEELERS: 12:01-1Q Randle-El 11 pass from Maddox (Reed kick)
- STEELERS: 11:10-1Q Scott 30 interception return (Reed kick)
- STEELERS: 04:24-1Q Reed FG26
- BUCCANEERS: 01:14-4Q K.Johnson 18 pass from R.Johnson (Gramatica kick)
STARTERS OFFENSE
- WR: #19 K. Johnson
- LT: #72 R. Oben
- LG: #71 K. Jenkins
- C: #62 J. Christy
- RG: #60 C. Coleman
- RT: #67 K. Walker
- TE: #85 K. Dilger
- WR: #87 K. McCardell
- QB: #10 S. King
- RB: #32 M. Pittman
- WR: #83 J. Jurevicius
STARTERS DEFENSE
- LE: #94 G. Spires
- DT: #99 W. Sapp
- NT: #91 C. Darby
- RE: #97 S. Rice
- SLB: #51 A. Singleton
- MLB: #53 S. Quarles
- WLB: #55 D. Brooks
- LCB: #25 B. Kelly
- RCB: #20 R. Barber
- SS: #47 J. Lynch
- FS: #34 D. Jackson
SUBSTITUTIONS
- 7 Gramatica, 9 Tupa, 11 Johnson, 23 Phillips, 26 Smith, 27 Stecker, 30 Barnes, 35 Ivy, 38 Howell, 40 Alstott, 43 Cook, 52 Webster, 58 Golden, 66 Benjamin, 74 Green, 75 Brown, 77 Washington, 80 Yoder, 86 Williams, 88 Dudley, 93 Claybrooks, 95 Warner, 96 Wyms
DID NOT PLAY
- none.
INACTIVE
- 14 Johnson, 31 Wansley, 64 Goodspeed, 81 Lee, 84 Barlow, 89 Crawford, 90 Gurley
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
- BUCCANEERS: Alstott 5-28, King 3-23, Pittman 4-20, R.Johnson 1-5, Stecker 1-(-2).
- STEELERS: Bettis 26-66, Zeroeue 5-23, Randle-El 1-4, Kreider 1-3, Maddox 2-(-2).
PASSING
- BUCCANEERS: King 26-9-73-1-0, R.Johnson 18-12-159-0-1.
- STEELERS: Maddox 23-17-236-0-1, Randle-El 1-1-8-0-0.
RECIEVING
- BUCCANEERS: K.Johnson 8-132, McCardell 6-45, Jurevicius 2-28, Dudley 2-8, Dilger 1-11, Pittman 1-4, Alstott 1-4.
- STEELERS: Ward 6-78, Burress 5-127, Zeroeue 3-18, Randle-El 1-11, Kreider 1-8, Cushing 1-4, Bettis 1-(-2).
INTERCEPTIONS
- BUCCANEERS: none.
- STEELERS: Scott 1-30.
KICK RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: Stecker 4-81.
- STEELERS: Randle-El 1-21.
PUNT RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: Williams 2-16.
- STEELERS: Randle-El 3-33.
SACKS
- BUCCANEERS: Barber 1-9, Rice 1-2.
- STEELERS: Smith 2.5-7.5, Porter 1-10, Hampton 1-5, Von Oelhoffen 1-4, Logan 0.5-2.5.
