Steelers Recap: Breaking Down Team's Narrow Victory In Tampa

PITTSBURGH, PA - If you’re grading the Steelers on style, they would have flunked Monday night in Tampa as they escaped with a 30-27 over the Buccaneers. But an ugly win still counts as a victory, one the Steelers desperately needed going into Sunday night’s showdown against the archrival Baltimore Ravens.

Here’s what national football writers are saying about a game in which the Steelers came close to squandering a 20-point halftime lead:

• Kalyn Kahler, Sports Illustrated: “The win was almost enough to brush aside the latest issues plaguing the Steelers’ locker room—with Bell holding out, Brown skipping work last Monday and trade rumors swirling—but one downside was that the team committed at least 12 penalties for a third straight game.”

• Jeremy Fowler, ESPN: “Ben Roethlisberger’s best road performance in years was buoyed by a defense that forced four turnovers, including a pick-six. Instead of panicking about their their winless start, the Steelers -- winners of six straight on Monday Night Football -- hunkered down and stuck to their plan.”

• Jeremy Bergman, NFL.com: “Pittsburgh did little Monday evening to quash the notion that it is the most undisciplined team in the league, east of Oakland. The Steelers committed 13 penalties for 155 yards, handing Tampa Bay four first downs via fouls. Through three games, the Steelers are the most penalized club in the NFL (44 flags) by far; the next closest is San Francisco with 32.”

• Nate Davis, USA Today: “Playing on the same field in Tampa where they won their last Super Bowl nearly a decade ago, the six-time champion Steelers finally notched their first win of the 2018 season on Monday night. Ben Roethlisberger lit up the Tampa Bay defense, Antonio Brown was smiling once again after a tense week, and Le'Veon Bell's continued absence was hardly an issue.”

• Jared Dubin, CBS Sports: The Steelers finally put an end to Tampa's hot start behind an efficient display of passing from Ben Roethlisberger and a defensive performance that was better than it looks considering the Bucs hung 27 points on the board. Pittsburgh forced four turnovers in the game, and sacked Fitzpatrick three times as well. They held the Bucs to just two scores on five trips to the red zone and yielded only 63 yards on the ground.”

Photo via Getty Images.

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