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The most startling story of the first two weeks of the 2018 NFL season was the start of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Behind the ultra-efficient performance of quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, the Bucs surprised the Saints in New Orleans in Week 1, then defeated Nick Foles and the reigning Philadelphia Eagles champion in the second week .
The Steelers finally put an end to Tampa's warm start Monday night, maintaining a 30-27 win over the Bucs at Tampa, behind Ben Roethlisberger's efficient display and a stronger defensive performance than the Bucs had been. suspended. 27 points on the board. Pittsburgh forced four turnovers in the game and sacked Fitzpatrick three times. They held the Bucs only two points off five trips in the red zone and gave up just 63 rushing yards.
It's not that the Steelers have performed flawlessly. Roethlisberger was removed early. The team as a whole took 13 ridiculous penalties for 155 yards, including several extra runs and / or kept the Buccaneers in the game. They mysteriously kept the ball in the air, while protecting a lead in the second half and combining for 32 yards on 11 games, while giving the Buc a chance to reduce their lead and catch up.
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After the Steelers blocked Tampa inside the 5-yard line with a perfect kick just three minutes south, only to take two penalties in the game and have to play again, the Buccaneers had one last shot. thanks. or winning game player. But Fitzpatrick fired three straight passes that were almost picked, and the Bucs, who still had two timeouts, decided to jump. They have never recovered the balloon.
Here are a few more things to know about Pittsburgh's win Monday night.
Roethlisberger overcomes the difficulties of the road
We all know the relative struggles that Ben Roethlisberger has had in road games in recent seasons. Last year, for example, Roethlisberger completed 61.7% of his passes on the road with 62.2 yards less per game than at home. And in the first game of the season on the road against the Browns, Ben scored 23 goals out of 41 and was eliminated three times.
He seemed to be able to continue his difficulties on the road from the beginning of the first quarter.
But he overcame this early interception and did very well. Roethlisberger finished the night after completing 30 of his 38 passes for 353 yards and three touchdowns, with just the only choice. It's the first time in a 15-year career that he's opened the season with three consecutive 300-yard passes.
He smashed the ball over his opponents Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster, as well as tight turns Vance McDonald and Jesse James. Ryan Switzer was involved in a touchdown late in the first period. Even facing one of the NFL's worst defensive defenses, it was an impressive performance far from the friendly limits of Heinz Field.
Fitzpatrick & # 39; s Fitzmagic is exhausted
Ryan Fitzpatrick set an NFL record this week, becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to win 400 yards or more in three consecutive games. Fitz finished the night with 411 yards on 50 attempts, with three touchdowns and three choices.
And those choices turned out to be very expensive. One of them arrived in the red zone on a deviated pass.
Another closed a reader before he could really start.
And of course, the third choice became a touchdown as Fitzpatrick overtook his opponent near his own goal line and saw Bud Depree bring the ball home to give the Steelers an edge that proved insurmountable.
Fitzpatrick put a lot of effort into bringing the team back to a big deficit, throwing second-period touchdowns to Chris Godwin and Mike Evans, but that was not enough. Speaking of Godwin, about …
The wild night of Chris Godwin
Bucs defenseman Chris Godwin himself had an interesting evening. Godwin finished the night with five catches for a total of 74 yards and one touchdown – a good performance, if not necessarily spectacular. But it was much more than that. With the Bucs 9-7 at the beginning of the match, Godwin took a pass in the middle of the field and appeared to be on the verge of a first win, but he was stripped of the ball by the Steelers corner, Artie Burns.
This fumble has set up a touchdown of Antonio Brown some games later. Godwin would later drop a touchdown pass in the second quarter … and another in the third. And that was all before he took a dive in the middle of the pack to jump on his feet and run into the end zone as it seemed like no Steelers defender had touched him on his way to the ground. Upon examination, it became clear that Godwin's foot was hitting Mike Hilton's shoulder as he plunged to the ground, so that the touchdown was reversed.
Finally, in the fourth quarter, Godwin jumped above Coty Sensabaugh to bring the Bucs back to 10 points.
Once again, it was an interesting match for the young Bucs player.
It will leave a mark
Leaders 7-0 in the first quarter, the Steelers faced third and last place in their 25-yard line. What happened next can not be described correctly with single words. Just look at what Vance McDonald is doing to poor Chris Conte, who may never be seen in public after that.
Seriously. Look at that stiff arm. LOOK AT THIS.
Celebrate it as you are Cameron Hayward. CELEBRATE IT.
Naturally, Conte could not come back to the game after this posting. The Bucs excluded him with an injured knee. But that did not stop people from making fun of what was really hurt. (Things were so bad that people even made jokes at the expense of Chris Conte.)
Neither is the first time that Conte is the victim of a brutal wrestling, because those who watched Bills-Bears in 2014 have surely remember. Yes
Tony Dungy enters the Bucs' ring of honor
Tony Dungy coached the Buccaneers from 1996 to 2001. He is one of the best coaches in Bucs history, with a 54-42 record in 96 games, making him one of two Buc coaches with a record of .500 or more. (The other is Jon Gruden, who won the Super Bowl after replacing Dungy in Tampa.) Dungy was inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame in 2016, making him the first black coach in the world. modern era to be enthroned.
On Monday, the Bucs awarded him the highest honor of the franchise, introducing him into their honor ring in front of several members of the legendary defense of the late 90s and early 2000s. (For some reason, the Bucs themselves have not published any photos of the ceremony, so we take this one from the Steelers. It looks like it's actually pre-game.)
You can, however, watch the full ceremony here.
And after?
The Steelers are now tied with the AFC North Browns at 1-1-1 and have a Sunday night fixture with the Ravens next week. The Bucs fall to 2-1 and go to Chicago to face the Bears Sunday afternoon. They bring Jameis Winston back from his three-game suspension (he broke the personal driving policy by looking for an Uber driver), but it remains to be seen whether Ryan Fitzpatrick will return his job.
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