The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers on the road in the second preseason game of the 2025 docket. Tampa Bay cruised to an early 14-0 advantage as Teddy Bridgewater connected with Bucky Irving and Emeka Egbuka in the end zone on Saturday night in the Steel City. Following an interception by Antoinio Grier Jr. late in the fourth frame, Chase McLaughlin drilled a 42-yard field goal as time expired to punctuate the victory for the Bucs.
Offensive Outlook
Teddy Bridgewater opened the game and displayed his ability to evade pressure while completing six of 11 pass attempts for 85 yards, the aforementioned touchdowns and a 118.3 passer rating. On the first touchdown play, Irving lined up wide and ran a go route, quickly gaining outside leverage on the defensive back to haul in the grab. The second-year running back showcased his ball skills and route-running capability to ignite the offense. On the second, Egbuka ran a corner route to perfection against Cover Zero and secured the difficult catch as he fell to the grass. Fifth-year veteran Kyle Trask took over late in the first quarter and undrafted rookie Connor Bazelak played during the second half. After the high-powered start, the Bucs' offense hit a lull, finishing the night with 240 net yards and just 41 on the ground.
Defensive Production
Pittsburgh's first offensive possession ended with a Zyon McCollum interception of Mason Rudolph at the Tampa Bay 41-yard line, which he returned 11 yards. In addition to McCollum, linebacker Antonio Grier Jr. and cornerback Kindle Vildor nabbed interceptions, bringing the Buccaneers' preseason total to a league-leading six picks. The Tampa Bay defense showed their knack for getting to the football in Preseason Week Two. After securing two pass breakups in his NFL debut a week earlier against the Titans at Raymond James Stadium, third-round pick Jacob Parrish had another stellar performance with a pass defensed, a tackle for loss and three tackles. Vildor added a second pass defensed and both rookie linebackers Nick Jackson and John Bullock each recorded sacks against Pittsburgh. The game marked Jackson's second game with a sack and the unit as a whole concluded the evening with four, as Chris Braswell and Warren Peeples shot into the backfield for a quarterback takedown.
"Turnovers win games," said Head Coach Bowles. "That last one got us the ballgame and obviously we stopped two drives with the other two. We can't turn it over and that put them back in the ballgame but three interceptions two games in a row is a plus. Got to keep getting them."
