The Pittsburgh Steelers have defeated Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 30-28 in a thrilling preseason match played last night. The hosts managed to defend the two-point conversion of the Bucs, and prevent them from leveling the score some 10 seconds before the end.
In a very interesting clash at the Heinz Field, Tampa Bay’s two unsuccessful conversions decided the match. The boys from Florida were chasing a huge gape and were on the verge of catching up with the home team, but eventually failed.
The central figure of the match was Bucs’ quarterback Ryan Griffin who threw for 330 yards, 26 of 43, had one touchdown and was leading his offense very well.
After checking out on Jameis Winston who played one offensive series and threw for a TD, the guests wanted to see their other options on the quarterback position. And it seems that they have a decent backup for the former No.1 pick.
The Steelers were explaining their quarterback options too. Josh Fobbs and Mason Rudolph had nice performances today, and Mike Tomlin might have some trouble in future to decide which one will the first replacement to Ben Roethlisberger.
Rudolph threw for two TDs, 5 for 8 and had 91 yards. Meanwhile, Dobbs didn’t have any touchdown passes, but was very productive on the field. He also had 5 completions in 8 tries, for 85 yards, but rushed on two occasions for 44 yards.
“It was good to get out there, make plays and move the ball efficiently,” he said after the game.
Rudolph, a sophomore now, stated that he feels much better and more experienced after one year in the league.
“I’m more comfortable,” Rudolph said. “Just the way I’ve been feeling in practice and just coming along in my second year overall.”
The third QB in Pittsburgh’s team also threw for a touchdown. The 23-year-old Devlin Hodges was 8 for 14, collecting 79 yards and a TD which gave the decisive advantage to the Steelers. Right after the start of the fourth period, he connected with Tevin Jones and the home team increased the lead to 27-16. After that came Matthew Wright’s field goal for a two-touchdown lead.
Tampa Bay had a furious ending in which they reached the endzone twice in the span of four minutes. Griffin had one four-yard pass to Tanner Hudson, while Dare Ogunbowale rushed for one, ten seconds before the end. If they used at least one of those two conversions, the game would be tied.
The Buccaneers took the lead at first, but after that, the Steelers reached their rhythm and turned the result upside down. Both sides played good football and fulfilled their plans for the first match of the preseason.
This is still a practicing mode, and many things are yet to be taken care of, but for now, the most important thing for both head coaches, Tomlin and Arians is that they have backups for their leading quarterbacks.
The Steelers will play against Kansas City next Saturday, while Tampa Bay has a state derby against Miami Dolphins at their home.
