For no other reason than for you to sound smart when talking Bucs football with your friends, we've compiled some interesting numbers that pertain to the Bucs' Week Three matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. It's all going down in prime time on Monday Night Football a.k.a. in front of a national audience. While the Steelers' record may be 0-1-1 to start the season, their offense is nearly as potent as what the Bucs has been through the first two weeks.
Check it out below.
1 & 2 – The Bucs and Steelers rankings in total offense through Week Two. The Bucs are averaging a whopping 482.5 yards per game while the Steelers are averaging a slightly less 473.5 yards per game. It's also where the Bucs and Steelers' passing offenses rank, respectively. Behind quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, the Bucs are averaging 409.5 yards through the air whereas Big Ben and the Steelers are averaging 393.5. And now that we are all predicting an offensive shootout, watch defense be the deciding factor on Monday.
275 – That's the number of receiving yards veteran wide receiver DeSean Jackson has through just the first two games of the season. He leads all NFL receivers with that number and he's tied for second with three receiving touchdowns behind only Cincinnati's A.J. Green who has four.
185 – The number of total yards needed by the offense for the most through three games in franchise history. The Bucs had 1,149 through the first three games of 2016. Given the fact that Tampa Bay has had well over 400 yards of total offense in Weeks One and Two, a measly 185 seems pretty doable.
12 – As in tackles. As in the number of tackles linebacker Lavonte David had (along with a forced fumble) the only other time he's played the Steelers on September 28, 2014. That was the last regular season meeting between the two teams and David absolutely dominated. David has 12 tackles through two games this season and also has a fumble recovery, which he tallied at the end of Sunday's game against Philadelphia.
111 – We had to sprinkle some FitzMagic in here but here's an overlooked number. Fitzpatrick needs just 111 passing yards for the most ever by a Buccaneers player through three games. The stats and accolades just keep coming as he was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for the second consecutive week on Wednesday. That's the first time a Bucs player has ever done it in consecutive weeks, too.
