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Bucs-Steelers report card: There is still work to be done

A snarling, desperate Pittsburgh played like it and was all over the Bucs and Ryan Fitzpatrick.
 
Published Sept. 25, 2018|Updated Sept. 25, 2018

TAMPA — They couldn't stick the landing. The FitzMagic ran out.

Monday night against the Steelers, Tony Dungy night, was supposed to be the coming-out party, a new beginning, the Bucs on national TV, showing America that 2-0 was not make believe. They hit the wall.

A snarling, desperate Pittsburgh played like it and was all over the Bucs and Ryan Fitzpatrick, and the final was a new reality, despite a frantic comeback try by the Bucs.

It might open the door to for Jameis Winston when he returns from suspension this week. It was a sobering night, one that said there is more work to do.

It still wasn't over until it was over

What a great comeback try by the Bucs, something to build on. The Bucs did mount a furious attempt. In the fourth quarter, down 30-13, Fitzpatrick found Chris Godwin, who remains a find, and then threw a score to Mike Evans. Maybe Fitzpatrick can build on that, though he might not get the chance Sunday in Chicago. Or will he? Grade: B

Chris Conte, your pension is calling

The Bucs took a 7-0 lead, but this game began to turn when Pittsburgh tight end Vance McDonald rag-dolled Bucs safety Conte and went down the sideline for a 75-yard touchdown. Later, Brent Grimes, back in action, missed Antonio Brown after Brown caught a short pass from Ben Roethlisberger and went 27 yards for a score. It reminded us that this secondary has some weaknesses, and they are not going away. The Steelers' five-receiver sets ate the Bucs alive. They don't have the numbers for that. Teams with the weapons, like the Falcons, will copy the five wides. Count on it. Grade: F

When does Jameis get back again?

The air seemed to go out of Fitzpatrick's balloon in a big way after a pair of near-perfect starts to begin the season. He was under constant pressure, beneath a pile of Steelers, as the offensive line couldn't stop the Pittsburgh pass rush. He was roughed up for the first time and threw a few times as he was ducking. Fitzpatrick threw three interceptions, two of them awful, one for a pick six as the Bucs fell behind 30-10 at halftime. A bad night. And then he rallied. Grade: D

This is tackle football, right?

Clay Matthews feels your pain. It was the officials, and it was the teams, but the Bucs and Steelers went personal-foul crazy with five roughing-the-passer penalties between them. A lack of discipline pervaded the activities, but it didn't always look like roughing the passer, but the flags fell and hurt both teams. Grade: F