Buccaneers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

LOSS - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27 Pittsburgh Steelers 30

Fitzmagic brought his bag of tricks, but it wasn't enough.

A trio of first half Fitzpatrick thrown interceptions allowed the Steelers (1-1-1) to catapult into an early lead, and they never looked back, derailing a late Buccaneers (2-1) comeback to hold on for a 30-27 win.

Fitzpatrick had flashes of excellence, including consecutive touchdown drives in the fourth quarter to make it a one possession game, but faltered with the game on the line, throwing three straight incompletions to give the ball back to the Steelers.

Fitzpatrick still became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 400 yards in three straight games.

GAMEDAY BRIEF - END OF GAME

11:33 p.m.: Roethlisberger takes a knee that will end this game and give Pittsburgh its first win of the season.

11:29 p.m: A pair of first downs commencing in a James Conner 17-yard run should just about wrap this game up.

11:25 p.m.: Three straight incompletions from Fitzpatrick, all of which were close to being intercepted, and the Steelers will get the ball back. After both teams were scoring at will earlier in the game, neither can put points up on the board in the closing minutes.

11:20 p.m.: Roethlisberger's pass to Brown falls incomplete and the Steelers have to punt, giving Fitzpatrick roughly a "3-minute" drill to get points. The punt goes into the end zone for a touchback.

11:18 p.m.: After only three plays, the Steelers are already inside the Buccaneers 40 and are running the clock.

11:12 p.m.: TOUCHDOWN, BUCCANEERS. A highly difficult pass from Fitzpatrick to Evans results in an incredible touchdown to cut it to a one possession game. Fitzpatrick has looked significantly better in the second half. The magic is back. Steelers 30, Buccaneers 27.

11:03 p.m.: In a nice throwback to his Eagles days, Desean Jackson initially took the punt back for a touchdown, but the fun is ruined when it's called back due to a holding. Roethlisberger's third down pass had fallen incomplete and forced the Steelers to punt.

10:55 p.m.: TOUCHDOWN, BUCCANEERS. The Buccaneers get within ten as Chris Godwin leaps and holds on to make a touchdown catch to get the deficit down to 10. Steelers 30, Buccaneers 20.

10:50 p.m.: Fitzpatrick converts on a 4th-and-7 in Steelers territory with a completion to Brate to keep the drive alive. Tampa needs points on this possession.

End of 3rd quarter: Buccaneers 13 - Steelers 30

10:39 p.m.: Boswell misses a field goal off the upright and the Buccaneers will regain possession.

10:38 p.m.: Pittsburgh's drive nearly ends prematurely, but Roethlisberger's fumble is recovered by his own team.

10:25 p.m.: FIELD GOAL, BUCCANEERS. Catanzaro makes a 28-yard field goal after Tampa Bay failed to get in the end zone despite having first and goal at the 6-yard line. Steelers 30, Buccaneers 13.

10:14 p.m.: Weird play, as Chris Godwin makes a diving catch and believes he is never touched by the Steelers defense. He gets up and runs uncontested into the end zone, but the play is reversed when it is determined that he was down by contact after his foot hit the shoulder of a Steelers defender.

HALFTIME - End of 2nd quarter: Buccaneers 10 - Steelers 30

9:52 p.m.: TOUCHDOWN, STEELERS. On an empty set, Roethlisberger finds wide receiver Ryan Switzer for a 1-yard score and the Steelers have hit the 30-point mark. Roethlisberger is 21-for-25 for 273 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. Simply ridiculous. Steelers 30, Buccaneers 10.

9:42 p.m.: FIELD GOAL, BUCCANEERS. Tampa Bay opts to take the points rather than go for it on fourth down inside the 10 as Chandler Catanzaro connects from 21 yards out. The opportunity was set up by a 51-yard pass from Fitzpatrick to Mike Evans. Steelers 23, Buccaneers 10.

9:36 p.m.: The bodyweight rule comes into play again as the fourth roughing the passer penalty of the half is called. J.J. Watt has made his opinion known.

9:33 p.m.: INTERCEPTION FOR A TOUCHDOWN, STEELERS. Fitzpatrick is intercepted for the third time in the half, this time by Bud Dupree, who easily runs it in for a score. Rinse and repeat. Steelers 23, Buccaneers 7.

9:31 p.m.: A great punt pins the Buccaneers at the 2-yard line. Roethlisberger was sacked twice on three plays as the Steelers could not take advantage of the turnover.

9:27 p.m.: INTERCEPTION, STEELERS. The Steelers defense capitalizes on another poor pass by Fitzpatrick and Terrell Edmunds brings it the other way. The FitzMagic is dwindling.

9:16 p.m.: INTERCEPTION, STEELERS. Fitzpatrick's pass in the red zone is tipped and intercepted by Mike Hilton, thwarting what was initially a strong drive.

9:06 p.m.: Antonio Brown does Antonio Brown things, evading a pair of defenders and cruising into the end zone for another Steelers touchdown. They now lead by two possessions. Steelers 16, Buccaneers 7.

9:05 p.m.: FUMBLE, BUCCANEERS. Chris Godwin makes the reception but almost immediately has the ball jarred loose and the Steelers recover. Everything is coming up Pittsburgh right now after the slow start.

9:02 p.m.: Boswell makes up for his missed extra point by connecting on a 36-yard field goal. Steelers 9, Buccaneers 7.

End of 1st quarter: Buccaneers 7, Steelers 6

8:51 p.m.: Roethlisberger finds JuJu Smith-Schuster for a gain of 44 yards and a roughing the passer penalty adds to the gain for the Steelers.

8:48 p.m.: The drive stalls and a sack by Anthony Chickillo forces Tampa Bay out of field goal range and they are forced to punt.

8:45 p.m.: Fitzpatrick continues to tear up the Steelers defense, completing his first three passes of the drive and the Bucs are inside Pittsburgh's 30-yard line.

8:38 p.m.: TOUCHDOWN, STEELERS. Vance McDonald lays a highlight-worthy stiff arm on safety Chris Conte en route to a 75-yard touchdown catch on just the third play of the drive. However, Chris Boswell misses the extra point. Buccaneers 7, Steelers 6.

8:32 p.m.: TOUCHDOWN, BUCCANEERS. Fitzpatrick makes it look easy as the Bucs take advantage of the interception and get in the end zone on just five plays. Cameron Brate caught a 4-yard touchdown pass for the score on the rare Harvard-to-Harvard completion. Buccaneers 7, Steelers 0.

8:26 p.m.: INTERCEPTION, BUCCANEERS. Justin Evans jumps the route and comes out of nowhere to intercept Roethlisberger and Tampa Bay will start its drive with great field position at its own 47-yard line. Big momentum shift early on in this game.

8:21 p.m.: Joe Haden with a big hit on wide receiver Chris Godwin on Fitzpatrick's third down pass attempt and the Buccaneers respond with a three-and-out of their own.

8:18 p.m.: Roethlisberger completes both of his passes on the Steelers first drive but they go three-and-out. Tampa Bay will take over at its own 41.

7:56 p.m.: Tony Dungy will be inducted into the Buccaneers Ring of Honor tonight. Dungy led Tampa Bay to four playoff appearances in six years with the team.

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GAMEDAY STATS

OFFICALS

• REFEREE: Peter Morelli #135
• UMPIRE: Steven Woods #54
• DOWN JUDGE: Steve Stelljes #22
• LINE JUDGE: Jeff Seeman #45
• FIELD JUDGE: Anthony Jeffries #36
• SIDE JUDGE: Boris Cheek #41
• BACK JUDGE: Keith Ferguson #61
• REPLAY OFFICAL: Brian Matoren
• VIDEO OPERATOR: not documented
• MICROSOFT SURFACE SIDELINE OFFICIAL: not documented

SCORING

• BUCCANEERS: 07:21-1Q Brate 4 yd. pass from Fitzpatrick (Catanzaro kick) (5-53, 2:34)
• STEELERS: 05:48-1Q McDonald 75 yd. pass from Roethlisberger (kick failed, hru) (3-75, 1:33)
• STEELERS: 12:14-2Q Boswell 38 yd. Field Goal (9-72, 4:45)
• STEELERS: 10:33-2Q Brown 27 yd. pass from Roethlisberger (Boswell kick) (2-33, 0:47)
• STEELERS: 02:50-2Q Dupree 10 yd. interception return (Boswell kick) 23 7
• BUCCANEERS: 01:15-2Q Catanzaro 21 yd. Field Goal (6-75, 1:35) 23 10
• STEELERS: 00:06-2Q Switzer 1 yd. pass from Roethlisberger (Boswell kick) (9-75, 1:09)
• BUCCANEERS: 07:07-3Q Catanzaro 28 yd. Field Goal (14-65, 7:53)
• BUCCANEERS: 11:06-4Q Godwin 4 yd. pass from Fitzpatrick (Catanzaro kick) (12-63, 5:00)
• BUCCANEERS: 05:43-4Q Evans 24 yd. pass from Fitzpatrick (Catanzaro kick) (9-92, 2:57)

STARTERS OFFENSE

• WR: #11 D. Jackson
• TE: #82 A. Auclair
• LT: #76 D. Smith
• LG: #74 A. Marpet
• C: #66 R. Jensen
• RG: #77 C. Benenoch
• RT: #69 D. Dotson
• TE: #80 O. Howard
• WR: #13 M. Evans
• QB: #14 R. Fitzpatrick
• RB: #25 P. Barber

STARTERS DEFENSE

• DE: #97 V. Curry
• DT: #93 G. McCoy
• DT: #92 W. Gholston
• DE: #90 J. Pierre-Paul
• MLB: #58 K. Alexander
• WLB: #54 L. David
• CB: #36 M. Stewart
• CB: #33 C. Davis
• CB: #24 B. Grimes
• S: #23 C. Conte
• S: #21 J. Evans

SUBSTITUTIONS

• K 7 C.Catanzaro, P 9 B.Anger, WR 10 A.Humphries, WR 12 C.Godwin, WR 16 F.Martino, CB 29 R.Smith, S 31 J.Whitehead, RB 32 J.Rodgers, DB 35 J.Elliott, RB 38 S.Wilson, S 39 I.Johnson, TE 45 A.Cross, LB 48 J.Cichy, LB 52 C.Lynch, LB 53 A.Taylor, DE 56 J.Worthy, T 61 L.Wester, OL 62 E.Smith, TE 84 C.Brate, LS 89 G.Sanborn, DE 94 C.Nassib, DE 95 W.Clarke

DID NOT PLAY

• QB 4 R.Griffin, DE 57 N.Spence

INACTIVE

• WR 17 J.Watson, DB 22 M.Williams, RB 27 R.Jones, DT 50 V.Vea, OL 65 A.Cappa, OL 67 M.Liedtke, DT 91 B.Allen

UNDER-SUSPENSION

• QB 3 Jameis Winston (game 3-of-3)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING

• BUCCANEERS: Barber 8-33, Fitzpatrick 5-27, Humphries 1-4, Rodgers 2-(-1).
• STEELERS: Conner 15-61, Ridley 3-18, Roethlisberger 4-(-1).

PASSING

• BUCCANEERS: Fitzpatrick 50-30-411-3-3.
• STEELERS: Roethlisberger 38-30-353-3-75-1.

RECIEVING

• BUCCANEERS: Evans 6-137, Howard 6-72, Godwin 5-74, Jackson 3-37, Brate 3-34, Humphries 3-30, Rodgers 2-18, Wilson 2-9, Barber 0-0.
• STEELERS: Smith-Schuster 9-116, Brown 6-50, Conner 5-34, McDonald 4-112, Switzer 3-9, Washington 2-25, James 1-7, Grimble 0-0.

INTERCEPTIONS

• BUCCANEERS: Evans 1-0.
• STEELERS: Edmunds 1-35, Dupree 1-10, Hilton 1-0.

KICK RETURNS

• BUCCANEERS: Wilson 5-68, Touchback 1-0.
• STEELERS: Switzer 1-21, Touchback 5-0.

PUNT RETURNS

• BUCCANEERS: Jackson 1-0, Humphries 0-0, Downed (2) Touchback (1)
• STEELERS: Switzer 1-16, Downed (1)

SACKS

• BUCCANEERS: Pierre-Paul 2-8, Curry 0.5-5, McCoy 0.5-5.
• STEELERS: Bostic 1-6, Dupree 1-4, Chickillo 1-9.

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