Fans and analysts in Tampa Bay are licking their wounds after the Pittsburgh Steelers’ fourth-quarter comeback Sunday over the Buccaneers.
The Bucs were up 16-3 at the start of the fourth quarter but lost 26-19 in overtime.
Tampa Bay Times columnist John Romano calls the loss “less pathetic than some, but more infuriating than most.”
The loss was, he says, was on the whole team.
“For most of the first three quarters, the Bucs earned some cheers,” he writes. “They weren’t dominating the Steelers, but they were playing smart, complementary football. They avoided penalties and turnovers on offense, and the defense had Pittsburgh quarterback Aaron Rodgers befuddled. And then they collapsed, just as they’ve done so many times before in the past 15 games.”
Bucs Nation, a prominent Buccaneers blog, posted on X that the defense started “playing soft” in the fourth quarter.
And, the blog notes, “Jalon Daniels’ first drive of the fourth quarter was not what his team needed.”
Neither was his effort late in the final quarter. A Daniels’ interception set the stage for the Steelers’ win, writes Tampa Bay Times columnist Rick Stroud.
Daniels’ performance wasn’t a complete fumble though, Stroud writes. “The Bucs built a 16-3 lead on his 2-yard touchdown pass to Emeka Egbuka and three Chase McLaughlin field goals.
“But Daniels missed Egbuka for what would have been a walk-in touchdown, as the Bucs receiver was only able to get a hand on the ball. Daniels finished 22-of-43 passing for 164 yards and a score with two interceptions. He also ran for 39 yards.”
The Joe Bucs Fan blog put it pretty plain: “The rapidly declining number of engaged Bucs fans are screaming for the head of KitKat-eating Bucs coach Todd Bowles. Bowles looks to have five more home games as Bucs coach. Joe cannot see the Bucs pulling out a miracle, even in this trash NFC South.”
It gets worse: “(Zac) Robinson has been one of the worst hires the Bucs have made since they handed the keys of the Tom Brady offense to knothead Byron Leftwich.”
As far as their defense, Joe Bucs Fan writes that “the Bucs are a team nearing an overhaul and the inevitable should be ordered by the forward-thinking folks at One Buc Palace,” adding that they haven’t been a good tackling team for a while.
Stroud points out that, ultimately, it was Aaron Rodgers’ experience that won the game for the Steelers.
“In the end, Rodgers started working over Bucs cornerback Jacob Parrish with DK Metcalf, who finished with 11 catches for 93 yards,” Stroud writes. ”Daniels simply doesn’t have the experience to make those adjustments. The Bucs don’t seem to have a No.1 receiver, and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson is trying to play around his rookie QB.”
It certainly didn’t help that the game was well attended by Steelers fans.
“Surely, somebody has a Terrible Towel left by the droves of Steelers fans that took over Raymond James Stadium to dry the Bucs’ tears,” Stroud concludes.