Teddy Bridgewater was the highlight of week two of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ preseason in their 17-14 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Bridgwater started for the Bucs and completed 6-of-11 passes for 85 yards and two touchdowns. The first touchdown went to running back Bucky Irving, who ran a five-yard go-route, gaining leverage on the DB to make the catch and give the Bucs a 7-0 lead. Emeka Egbuka then ran a perfect corner route on the second TD to put the Buccaneers up 14-0. The Buccaneers would add a Chase McLaughlin 42 yard field goal as time ran out to give the Bucs the 17-14 win.
Bridgewater tried to keep it simple in his Buccaneers debut and let the playmakers on offense make plays. “That was the focus, for me to just to be able to jot down a couple plays I was comfortable with, go out and execute, try to execute at a high level, and just get the ball to the guys in order to make plays. We have so many playmakers in that locker room, and you saw it tonight – get the ball to those guys in space and good things happen.”
For being in the offense just two weeks, coach Todd Bowles was impressed with how Bridgewater commanded the offense. “Just being here two weeks, I thought he did a hell of a job. He made two great throws down there for the touchdown throws, moved in the pocket well, got out of trouble, kept us out of trouble, and kept the ball safe. He got one batted down, but for being here two weeks, it said a lot about him and how he operates and what he does. He had good command of the offense.”
Bridgewater would give way to the former Florida Gator Kyle Trask, and to say that Trask underwhelmed would be an understatement. As good as Trask was the week before against Tennessee, he was awful against the Steelers’ defense, completing just 3-of-10 passes for 19 yards.
Another disappointment offensively was the play of the offensive line and the running backs. The offensive line was beaten most of the evening by the Steelers’ defensive line, as the Buccaneers could not open much running room for the backs. After averaging over four yards per carry against the Titans, the Bucs averaged 1.8 yards against Pittsburgh.
The defensive line was also inept at putting pressure on the Steelers’ quarterbacks. Overall, it was a disappointing outing for the defensive line. However, the Buccaneers’ defensive backs played well and had two takeaways to stall Pittsburgh’s offensive drives. Kindle Vildor, who is making a strong case to make the team, along with Antonio Grier and Zyon McCollum, had the three picks for the Buccaneers defense.
Another huge positive coming out of this game was the punting of Riley Dixon. Dixon averaged over 50 yards per punt on eight kicks and helped the Buccaneers maintain control of field position throughout the game. If Dixon can punt like this during the regular season, that will be a massive plus for the Bucs in the battle for field position.
The Buccaneers lost linebacker JJ Roberts for the season with a knee injury suffered in practice last week. Roberts will have surgery and be placed on season-ending IR. That injury and linebacker David Walker’s placement on IR before the season starts are big blows to the Buccaneers’ defensive depth. That opens the door for Shilo Sanders to gain a spot on the 53-man roster, but he failed to distinguish himself and stand out during the game. He did have two solo tackles.
Jacob Parrish had another good night with a pass defensed, a tackle for loss, and three tackles. Chris Braswell, Warren Peoples, and rookies Nick Jackson and John Bullock also recorded sacks, giving the Bucs defense four sacks on the night. This was the second game in a row that the rookie Jackson recorded a sack.
Bowles was pleased with the sacks and the turnovers. “Turnovers win games,” Bowles said. “That last one got us the ballgame, and obviously, we stopped two drives with the other two. We can’t turn it over, and that put them back in the ballgame, but three interceptions two games in a row is a plus. Got to keep getting them.”
Despite the one muffed punt, Tez Johnson looked good in the punt return game; his vision, quickness, and overall speed make him very dangerous as a return man. He averaged 18.5 yards per punt return against the Steelers.
The Buccaneers will conclude the preseason on Saturday against the Buffalo Bills at Raymond James Stadium at 7:30 PM.