The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are set to travel to Acrisure Stadium to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in a week six matchup. The Buccaneers come into the game with a record of 3-2 while the Steelers enter the contest with a record of 1-4. As their records show, the Steelers and Bucaneers are well on their way to having two very different seasons. The Steelers have finally entered a full rebuild after the Ben Roethlisberger era came to an end last season. With rookie Kenny Pickett making his first career start last week against the Buffalo Bills, there will not be much winning this year for the Steelers. On the flip side, despite fighting the injury bug, the Buccaneers sit atop of their division poised for another deep playoff run in what could be Tom Brady’s final season.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Look to Have Breakout Game
The Bucaaneers are coming into this game as heavy favorites. As previously mentioned, this is a very lopsided matchup between a rebuilding and contending team. While it may not be the closest game of the weekend, this is the exact matchup that the Buccaneers need.
Despite being in first place in their division, the Buccaneers have not looked nearly as good as they did in their Super Bowl winning season in 2020, or even as good as they did last season. Their offense has gotten off to a very slow start this season, and the defense has played more of a factor than ever for Tampa Bay since Brady has joined the team. It is assumed that the passing game and in turn the offense as a whole will start to get back on the right foot once the wide receiver room gets a couple of consecutive games healthy. There has been a lot of turnover for Tampa Bay’s pass catchers. Since last season, they have lost Rob Gronkowski and have added Russell Gage and Julio Jones. A game against a struggling team like the Steelers should give Tampa Bay the perfect opportunity to loosen up on offense and get back into their flow.
Pittsburgh Steelers Try to Continue to Adjust to Kenny Pickett at Starting QB
Last week was not the storybook debut start for Kenny Pickett that Steelers fans hoped it would have been, and this week is another matchup against an elite defense for the young quarterback. He will have his work cut out for him and likely will struggle through this game as well. If the Steelers can find a way to get Najee Harris and the rushing game going early in the game, the passing game could also see some success, however, with the elite defensive line the Bucs have, it will be a very tall task for Pittsburgh.
Although the odds are not in their favor, if the Steelers’ defense can step up and play at their best, they could keep this game very close. The Buccaneers have struggled to put points on the board this season and it could turn into a defensive battle. If this happens, the Steelers could have a shot of pulling off the biggest upset of the week.
