The Steelers scrapped together a desperately needed win, and here are the winners and losers from their game against the Buccaneers.
The Steelers were a team that was struggling mightily, and their schedule was doing them no favors. Both sides of the team were struggling, and with most of the secondary set to miss this game, things once again looked bleak for Pittsburgh. It was a scrappy win, but the Steelers overcame the odds that were stacked against them.
While a win here provides some desperate relief, this team still has a long way to go before confidence can be restored in their abilities. That said, beating Tom Brady in what is likely his final game in Pittsburgh was a sweet result. With all of that said, here are the winners and losers from the Steelers win against the Buccaneers.
Steelers winners:
Mitchell Trubisky
For all of the lumps Mitchell Trubisky took as the starter for the Steelers, he certainly deserves some praise for his job in relief. No, he was far from an elite player, but he held his own and kept the offense moving. For a player whose confidence was likely low due to his benching, he flashed some solid play and helped this team get the victory.
Steven Sims
The Steelers return game was in relative shambles a few weeks ago. While Steven Sims hasn’t been dynamic on every return, he has been consistent. Add in his long return to start the second half off and it was a solid outing for the veteran receiver. He has comfortably found a niche for this team, and it helped out in a major way today.
Chase Claypool
One of the worst-performing Steelers during the early part of the season, something had to give with Chase Claypool. While physically gifted, Claypool was a nonfactor in the passing game and an inefficient blocker. He looked more like his rookie self this week as he led the Steelers receivers and was a dependable weapon. Hopefully, something has clicked with him now playing mostly out of the slot.
The Steelers defense
Was it always pretty or perfect? No, but this banged-up Steelers defense more than held its own against a decent Tampa Bay defense. Shoutout to Cameron Heyward up front and James Pierre at cornerback, as both were consistently making big plays this week. No one expected a good day from this unit, and this unit proved everyone wrong.
Steelers losers:
Kevin Dotson
While the offensive line as a whole did ok this week, Kevin Dotson seemed to have a really off game. His blocking was worse than it usually has been this season and he was penalized multiple times in this game. It was a weak result all-around and a game that Dotson will need to improve off of.
Matt Canada
While the Steelers offense looked good early in the game, the script reverted back to its usual bland style rather quickly. It was maddening to see the team have t kick a field goal despite being gifted with perfect field position after Sims huge return. It didn’t cost the Steelers this week, but this offense is far from fixed.
It was a surprisingly good game from a team that hasn’t had a lot of those recently. This defense far exceeded expectations as they found a way to shut Brady down this week. The schedule doesn’t get any easier, but this game could prove to be a turning point for this team going forward.