The Pittsburgh Steelers enter Week 3 of the 2018 regular season with a record of 0-1-1 following their Week 2 Sunday home loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. A week from Monday the Steelers will play their second road game of 2018 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and they open the week as 2.5-point consensus favorites, according to Vegas Insiders.
The Buccaneers enter Week 3 with a 2-0 record thanks to wins over the New Orleans Saints and Philadelphia Eagles in their first two games and with Ryan Fitzpatrick starting at quarterback in place of suspended starter Jameis Winston. The Buccaneers also scored a total of 75 points in those two wins.
Against the Eagles on Sunday, Fitzpatrick completed 27 of his 33 total pass attempts in his team’s 27-21 home win for 402 yards with 4 touchdowns and 1 interception. Fitzpatrick’s 4 touchdown tosses against the Eagles went to wide receivers DeSean Jackson, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin and tight end O.J. Howard. Fitzpatrick was sacked twice by the Eagles defense on Sunday. The journeyman backup quarterback now has 819 passing yards on the young season to go along with 8 total touchdown passes. He’s also completed 78.7% of all pass attempts heading into Week 3.
While Jackson leads the Buccaneers in touchdown receptions (3) and receiving yardage (275) entering Week 3 of the regular season, Evans leads Tampa in receptions with 17 for 230 yards. Godwin, on the other hand, enters Week 3 with 8 receptions for 97 yards and 2 touchdowns.
The Buccaneers leading rusher heading into Week 3 is Peyton Barber, a former undrafted free agent out of Auburn. He has rushed for 91 yards on 35 carries in the Buccaneers first two games of 2018. Tampa’s offensive line is anchored by left guard Ali Marpet and left tackle Donovan Smith.
Defensive for the Buccaneers, linebacker Lavonte David leads the team in total defensive tackles with 18 entering Week 3. The Buccaneers defense has registered 4 total sacks in their first two games and they belong to linebacker Kwon Alexander and defensive linemen Gerald McCoy, Jason Pierre-Paul, and Vinny Curry. While the Buccaneers defense has recorded 4 fumbles in the team’s first two regular season games of 2018, that unit has yet to record an interception.
In Sundays win over the Eagles, the Buccaneers defense allowed quarterback Nick Foles to throw for 334 yards and 1 touchdown. The Eagles also rushed for 91 yards and 2 touchdowns on 24 total carries against the Buccaneers.
The Steelers lead the all-time series against the Buccaneers 8-2 and lead 5-1 in games played at Tampa Bay.
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