Steelers vs Buccaneers Week 6 Preview

Steelers @ Buccaneers Week 6 Preview 

By: Wilson Simons

The Buccaneers are 1-4 but that one win came last week in an upset win over the Dallas Cowboys. 

Pittsburgh (3-2) heads to Tampa Bay at 1 p.m. ET Sunday coming off a 34-22 win over the Colts, but it's taking a receiver room held together with cardboard. Michael Pittman Jr. is on injured reserve. Roman Wilson and Ben Skowronek are both out. And on Friday, DK Metcalf showed up on the injury report with an illness, missed practice, and is now questionable.

If Metcalf can't go, rookies Germie Bernard and Kaden Wetjen are the only healthy wide receivers on the 53-man roster. Bernard has been the unofficial WR1 in my eyes based on how many targets he’s had over the last few weeks of the season. But I'd expect Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington to handle most of the receiving work instead, along with Jaylen Warren, who already leads the team in receiving. That's great for my fantasy team. It's not great when your running back is your best pass catcher.

Tampa Bay's defense just made the Dallas Cowboys look silly. The Bucs went into AT&T Stadium at 0-4, with undrafted rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels starting for the injured Baker Mayfield, and won 24-16. Their game plan revolved around not letting CeeDee Lamb beat them, and it worked. Four days after catching 17 passes for 189 yards against Houston, Lamb finished with two catches for nine yards before leaving with a quad injury. Cornerback Zyon McCollum held him without a catch in their 10 one-on-one matchups.

The Steelers are potentially without all three of their top receivers on Sunday. If Metcalf can't go, don't expect Aaron Rodgers to force it to a rookie against the defense that just erased Lamb. Expect the Steelers to win on the ground. If Rico Dowdle is back, Mike McCarthy finally gets the one-two punch he planned with Warren. Dowdle wasn’t very efficient in the few carries he’s had but neither did Warren until Max Ihanachor came in and the offensive line flipped. 

With an abundant lack of wide receiver talent, that usually means more two-tight-end sets, more screens and check-downs to Warren or Bernard and quick throws that get out before Tampa Bay's blitz gets home. The goal is to control the clock and keep the defense off the field. It won't be pretty, but it doesn't need to be.

The defense has its own test. I was worried last week that Jonathan Taylor would go off without Derrick Harmon in the middle, and he didn't. But Tampa's running game is rolling. Against Dallas, Bucky Irving ran for a career-high 165 yards and two touchdowns, and the Bucs ran for 241 yards as a team on their way to 419 total yards. With Harmon still out and Keeanu Benton questionable with an ankle injury, the run defense gets another real test.

There's also a storyline that hasn't gotten nearly enough attention: the pass rush has gone quiet. The Steelers have 11 sacks through five games. Aaron Rodgers alone has been sacked 14 times. Nick Herbig, who signed a four-year, $100 million extension in June, still doesn't have one. Part of that is how he's being used. Steelers insider Ray Fittipaldo pointed out that in three-outside-linebacker packages, Herbig is often lining up over guards and centers and rushing from the inside, where he hasn't been effective. You don't pay a pass rusher $100 million to get blocked by guards. And T.J. Watt's only sack in the last two games was the one he split with Cam Heyward against Indianapolis.

The secondary has been covering for it, even without Joey Porter Jr., and Asante Samuel Jr. was all over the field last week. But a pass rush that costs this much should be winning games, not getting bailed out. A rookie quarterback in only his third start is exactly the kind of player this group should feast on.

This one won't look anything like last week. Both teams want to run the ball, Tampa Bay has a rookie quarterback, and the Steelers might be without their top three receivers. Expect long drives, a lot of punts and a game that comes down to the fourth quarter.

Steelers 17, Buccaneers 13. Jaylen Warren and Pat Freiermuth find the end zone again.


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