PLAYER NOTES
–CB Joe Haden, who missed the Chiefs game because of a hamstring injury, returned to practice and is expected to play against the Buccaneers.
–OL David DeCastro, who missed the Chiefs game with a hand injury, attempted to practice Wednesday, but left early.
–OL Ramon Foster is dealing with a knee injury and did not practice Wednesday.
–OL Marcus Gilbert is dealing with a hamstring injury and did not practice.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: WR Antonio Brown. The All-Pro has been held to fewer than 100 yards in each of the first two games. Brown is not happy with his role in the offense despite an NFL-high 33 targets. Look for the Steelers to design a few more plays for Brown to take advantage of his big-play ability.
GAME PLAN: The Steelers defense has to find a way to slow down Tampa Bay quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who has thrown for 819 yards and eight touchdowns in the first two games of the season. That won’t be an easy task after surrendering six touchdown passes to Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The Steelers do have one thing going for them: they are 5-0 all-time against Fitzpatrick, although he hasn’t been terrible in those games. He has six touchdown passes and three interceptions against the Steelers, who most recently beat him when he quarterbacked the New York Jets in October of 2016. The Steelers won that game, 31-13. If the Steelers can be effective against Fitzpatrick again they should be in good position to win on the road because the offense is coming off a very good game against the Chiefs.
Look for the Steelers to ride Ben Roethlisberger in this game. Not only did he throw for 452 yards against the Chiefs, but the Buccaneers have had a hard time defending the pass in their first two games. Despite their 2-0 start opposing quarterbacks have had their way throwing the ball. Drew Brees and Nick Foles combined to complete 77 percent of their passes for an average of 377 yards per game. Roethlisberger has plenty of options to attack the Tampa secondary, including second-year receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, who has reached 100 yards receiving in each of the first two games. If the Steelers do get into another shootout they have plenty of playmakers to keep up with the Buccaneers.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH
–Steelers CB Joe Haden vs. Buccaneers WR DeSean Jackson. Haden is the Steelers’ best corner, and he will have his hands full with Jackson, who is having a resurgent season. Jackson is the NFL’s leading receiver through two weeks with 275 yards. Haden missed the Chiefs game because of a hamstring injury. If he’s hobbled at all, it’s going to be a long day for the Steelers defense.
–Steelers RB James Conner vs. Buccaneers run defense. Conner has enjoyed some early success as the feature back while Le’Veon Bell remains out, but he’s going to have his work cut out against Tampa Bay, which enters the game third in the NFL in rushing defense. The Buccaneers are allowing only 67 rushing yards per game. They held the Eagles to 91 yards on 24 attempts. Conner had 135 yards in the opener against the Browns, but he was held to 17 yards on eight carries against the Chiefs because the Steelers fell behind early. They will want to get Conner more involved against the Buccaneers.
