Heading into the second week of the preseason and a long trip to Pittsburgh, Head Coach Todd Bowles wasn't even sure he would put Teddy Bridgewater into the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' second game of the preseason. By the time the game rolled around on Saturday night after his team had practiced twice in the Steel City, including one joint affair with the Steelers, Bridgewater was the Buccaneers' first quarterback on the field.
The initial plan was to give starter Baker Mayfield his first – and probably only – action of the preseason, but Mayfield's work in that joint practice on Thursday was extensive and impressive enough for Bowles to change his mind. Meanwhile, he saw enough from Bridgewater, who had only signed with the team 11 days earlier, to deem him ready for his first action as a Buccaneer. Thus, Bridgewater didn't know until Friday that he was going to be answering the opening bell.
In an effort to make his Buccaneers debut on short notice go smoothly, Bridgewater sat down with Offensive Coordinator Josh Grizzard for a couple planning sessions. He and Grizzard had previously worked together in Miami when Bridgewater spent one season with the Dolphins in 2022 while Grizzard was an offensive quality control coach.
"It started with Grizz," said Bridgewater. "We met last night and this morning, just talking about some of the plays that I was comfortable with, that I'd run when we were together in Miami or the past couple teams that I've been on. That was the focus, for me to just to be able to jot down a couple plays I was comfortable with, go out and execute, try to execute at a high level and just get the ball to the guys in order to make plays. We have so many playmakers in that locker room and you saw it tonight – get the ball to those guys in space and good things happen."
Good things did indeed happen, as Bridgewater handled the first three drives of the game and led the Buccaneers to touchdowns on two of them. He threw a total of 11 passes, completing six for 85 yards and those two scores while compiling a 119.3 passer rating. His scoring tosses to running back Bucky Irving and rookie wideout Emeka Egbuka were precision passes dropped into perfect spots against tight coverage.
"Just being here two weeks, I thought he did a hell of a job," said Head Coach Todd Bowles. "He made two great throws down there for the touchdown throws, moved in the pocket well, got out of trouble, kept us out of trouble, and kept the ball safe. He got one batted down, but for being here two weeks, it said a lot about him and how he operates and what he does. He had good command of the offense."
The pass to Irving was a surprise, as the relatively diminutive back lined up wide to the right, isolated against a linebacker, and simply beat the defender off the snap and ran a go route. The corner route out to the left to Egbuka was the product of something Bridgewater had seen earlier in the game but had steered away from due to his unfamiliarity with the young receiver. Because he has largely been working with third-string offensive players in practice, Bridgewater hadn't had a chance to learn Egbuka's nuances yet.
"I honestly probably only threw one pass to Emeka since I've been here," said Bridgewater with a laugh. "Yeah, I've been at the back of the line when it came to throwing routes to the guys. Earlier in the drive, or it might have been a previous drive, they played man coverage and we ran a similar concept and I was telling [Quarterbacks Coach] Thad [Lewis], 'Man, I can throw this corner route, but I haven't thrown a corner route to these guys. I don't know the timing and the body language and everything like that.'
"So I missed that opportunity, but I saw the opportunity come up again with them playing man coverage and I was like, 'You know what, I'm just going to just cut it, throw it to a spot,' and Emeka did a great job of winning versus the leverage that he had, going to the ground making a tough catch."
Obviously, after a strong performance against the Steelers and given his wealth of experience – a big factor in the Bucs' decision to bring him in – Bridgewater had to field questions about where he thinks he belongs on the team's depth chart. For now, though, the 12th-year veteran is simply trying to find a comfort level with his new team and is willing to fit in wherever the Bucs need him.
"I'm just here to help this team in every way possible," he said. "I've been a humble servant throughout my career, playing and coaching, so however I can help this team, that's my focus."
