Category: 2022 Week 6 Steelers vs. Buccaneers

Steelers vs Bucs official predictions

Cast your vote for the winner of this week’s game.

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It’s once again time to make our predictions for this week’s game. This week the Pittsburgh Steelers are back home and hope to snap a four-game losing streak. Unfortunately, things aren’t going to be easy as the defense is hobbled with four starting defensive backs out.

This is a particularly cruel coincidence since the Steelers are taking on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Quarterback Tom Brady has had great success against great Steelers defense and this defense is not in that group.

Last week the Steelers suffered its worst loss under head coach Mike Tomlin when they lost 38-3 to the Buffalo Bills. Could it be even worse this week? Possibly. Pittsburgh has a huge list of starters out, most of which are on defense. Brady is going to be able to pick this secondary apart.

Meanwhile the Steelers offense can’t seem to find the end zone. There is hope with quarterback Kenny Pickett but it’s hard to picture this group scoring enough to keep up with the Bucs under the best of conditions. I do think the Steelers put up some points this week but can’t keep pace with Brady.

Buccaneers 35, Steelers 17

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Steelers place DE DeMarvin Leal on IR, promote CB Joshua Jackson

The Steelers announced several roster moves on Saturday.

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On Saturday, the Pittsburgh Steelers announced a handful of roster moves. The most meaningful of those is placing rookie defensive end DeMarvin Leal on IR. Replacing Leal on the 53-man roster is cornerback Joshua Jackson.

The Steelers also elevated cornerback Quincy Wilson and safety Elijah Riley to the active roster for this week’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Both players will revert back to the practice squad after the game.

Losing Leal hurts as he’s been a bright spot on a struggling Steelers defense. Leal had seen his playing time steadily improve this season and he is easily one of the high-motor guys on the defensive line.

Jackson is the most likely candidate to start opposite James Pierre on the outside. Pittsburgh has already ruled out Levi Wallace, Cameron Sutton and Ahkello Witherspoon this week.

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Steelers vs Bucs: 4 guys who need to step up this week

The Steelers need big plays from these guys this week.

This week the odds are heavily stacked against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pittsburgh is preparing to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and is seriously short-handed on both sides of the football. With so many injuries, here are the four guys who need to step up this week.

Steelers vs Bucs: LB Shaq Barrett added to Tampa injury report

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have updated their injury report.

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers added star outside linebacker Shaq Barrett to their game status report for this week’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The report indicates illness as his injury designation so it is unclear if he will be ready on Sunday or not.

This is in addition to wide receiver Julio Jones (knee) who is listed as doubtful. Defensive lineman Akiem Hicks (foot), cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting (quad), and defensive back Logan Ryan (foot) have all been ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Steelers.

Pittsburgh has ruled out multiple defensive starters for this week’s game including the team’s top three cornerbacks and star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. Pittsburgh will also be without starting tight end Pat Freiermuth.

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Steelers vs Bucs: 5 Steelers starters out vs Tampa Bay

The Steelers will only have one regular starter in the secondary on Sunday.

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The Pittsburgh Steelers defense is going into Sunday’s game severely hobbled on defense. Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have to be wringing their hands like a supervillain at taking on a Steelers secondary that will be missing its top three cornerbacks and starting free safety.

Here is the full rundown for Sunday’s game.

CB Levi Wallace OUT

CB Ahkello Witherspoon OUT

CB Cameron Sutton OUT

S Minkah Fitzpatrick OUT

DE MeMarvin Leal OUT

TE Pat Freiermuth OUT

At this point, the Steelers’ secondary is going to see a lineup of James Pierre and practice-squad player Josh Jackson as the outside corners, Arthur Maulet in the slot and newly-added Duke Dawson as the No. 4 corner. Tre Norwood would start at safety again this week but this time replacing Minkah Fitzpatrick as opposed to Terrell Edmunds, who returns.

On offense, tight end Pat Freiermuth is in the concussion protocol and will be replaced as TE1 by Zach Gentry. This will also give rookie Connor Heyward a chance to see an increased role in the passing game.

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NFL experts giving the Steelers no shot vs the Bucs

The NFL pundits are not calling for an upset this week.

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At this point, it is hard to have much confidence in the Pittsburgh Steelers to beat any team. A 1-4 start is not what anyone expected, even with the change at quarterback. This week the Steelers welcome Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to town and NFL pundits don’t give the Steelers any hope of pulling off the upset.

According to NFL Pick Watch, 98 percent of the expert picks they aggregated from the internet are taking the Bucs this weekend. Tampa is currently 3-2 and leads the NFC South.

Pittsburgh is currently struggling with a lengthy list of injuries, primarily on the defensive side of the football. The Steelers are three games away from the bye week and this is one of three really challenging matchups. Pittsburgh is coming off the worst loss in franchise history under head coach Mike Tomlin. Can the Steelers turn things around this week? Let us know in the comments.

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Steelers vs Bucs: Thursday injury update

The Steelers continue to deal with a multitude of injuries.

The Pittsburgh Steelers got to work on Thursday and continued to prepare to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and they continued to do it shorthanded. The Steelers secondary is still hobbled by injuries and based on today’s statuses, isn’t going to get any better before gameday.

Here is the full practice report for Thursday.

WR Diontae Johnson (hip) FP

CB Cameron Sutton (hamstring) DNP

CB Ahkello Witherspoon (hamstring) DNP

CB Levi Wallace (concussion) LP

S Terrell Edmunds (concussion) FP

DT Montravius Adams (hip) FP

OL Mason Cole (foot) DNP

TE Zach Gentry (knee) FP

TE Pat Freiermuth (concussion) LP

DT Larry Ogunjobi (back) DNP

It’s great seeing guys like wide receiver Diontae Johnson, defensive tackle Montravius Adams and tight end Zach Gentry full participants. But with the status of the team’s top-three cornerbacks in doubt, it raises questions about how much the defense will be able to do against Bucs quarterback Tom Brady.

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Steelers vs Bucs: Wednesday practice report

The Steelers Wednesday practice report was packed with DNPs.

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The best news about the Pittsburgh Steelers Wednesday practice report was the return of safety Terrell Edmunds. Edmunds missed last week’s game in the league’s concussion protocol. But as the team prepares to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week, the rest of the resort is pretty ugly.

Here is the full rundown from Wednesday:

S Terrell Edmunds (concussion) FULL

WR Diontae Johnson (hip) LP

CB Cameron Sutton (hamstring) DNP

CB Levi Wallace (concussion) DNP

S Minkah Fitzpatrick (knee) DNP

DT Montarvius Adams (hip) DNP

OL Mason Cole (foot) DNP

TE Zach Gentry (knee) DNP

TE Patt Freiermuth (concussion) LP

DT Larry Ogunjobi (back) DNP

If things don’t improve drastically over the next two days, the defense is going to be in shambles against the Bucs and Tom Brady. Another piece of good news out of the report is that starting cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon wasn’t on it. He had missed the last two games with a hamstring injury but looks to be ready to go this week.

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Steelers vs Bucs: Pittsburgh 7.5-point home underdog to Tampa Bay

The Steelers are once again home underdogs.

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This week the Pittsburgh Steelers return home to lick their wounds after the team’s worst loss under the tenure of head coach Mike Tomlin. Unfortunately, things don’t get much easier for the 1-4 Steelers as the 3-2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers come to town leading the NFC South.

According to Tipico Sportsbook, the struggling Steelers are 7.5-point home underdogs to the Bucs. Pittsburgh has eight starters injured heading into the week, has no answers as to how to score points and has paid a tremendous amount to a defense that cannot stop anyone.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Tampa has quarterback Tom Brady who is 9-3 lifetime against the Steelers. They are playing for something, holding onto a lead in their division and probably view the Steelers as an opponent on the ropes.

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