Following training camp, the Pittsburgh Steelers were back at Acrisure Stadium to hold a joint practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ahead of their head-to-head preseason matchup in Pittsburgh on Saturday night. While the Steelers' defense has been talked up all summer, Todd Bowles apparently doesn't view them as menacing.
The Buccaneers' head coach quietly disrespected Pittsburgh's defense when he complimented quarterback Baker Mayfield. One beat reporter spoke with Bowles after practice, when the head coach informed him that Mayfield doesn't need to play in Saturday's game.
"After reviewing the tape of today’s practice," beat reporter Rick Stroud posted on X, "Todd Bowles just told me he believes Baker Mayfield played so well today in the joint workout with the Steelers he will not play in Saturday night’s game."
While Bowles no doubt meant this as a compliment to Mayfield's performance in his joint practice with the Steelers, his comments feel like a subtle shot at Pittsburgh's defense.
Apparently, Mayfield was able to have a field day against the Steelers' first-team defense. One still shot from practice—captured by TribLIVE's Chris Adamski—shows Mayfield connecting with Mike Evans for a touchdown on a corner route, with Jalen Ramsey trailing behind.
Fans don't need to worry about the Pittsburgh Steelers' defense
The joint practice between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was not open to the public, so there's only so much information we can glean from this session. Though it appears Tampa Bay's offense got the best of Pittsburgh's defense, we don't know the full context here.
Even if the Steelers were attempting to bring the heat, and Mayfield still tore them up, we're talking about football in August. With all of the moving pieces on defense, we can expect some growing pains early in the season.
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The defense includes new starters at each level of the field. Derrick Harmon is stepping into the starting left defensive end role from day one, replacing veteran Larry Ogunjobi. Meanwhile, Payton Wilson is taking over a full-time role after Elandon Roberts left in free agency, and there are three new starting members in the secondary—Jalen Ramsey, Darius Slay, and Juan Thornhill.
While Pittsburgh's defense is one of the older units in the league, there's no doubt that they have the talent to live up to lofty expectations in 2025. Todd Bowles' decision to sit Baker Mayfield in the Steelers vs. Buccaneers preseason game on Saturday feels like a shot against Pittsburgh's defense, but it's just one practice.
We're not going to get all worked up about the Steelers' defensive performance before the team's second preseason game.