Sep 27, 2014 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – The pessimism and negativity surrounding the Steelers’ loss two weeks ago at Baltimore disappeared last week after a convincing victory at Carolina.

Now, the Steelers must guard against another emotion – a letdown.

Returning home for the first time since their opener against Cleveland with a 2-1 record three games into the season, the Steelers face a Tampa Bay team that was beaten resoundingly, 56-14, in its last game Sept. 18 at Atlanta.

The Steelers, however, are quick to point out the Bucanneers (0-3) have been close in their other two outings this season, losing to Carolina, 20-14, in Week 1, and dropping a 19-17 decision at St. Louis.

And the Steelers are banged up enough, having lost cornerback Ike Taylor and linebackers Ryan Shazier and Jarvis Jones to injuries in the win over the Panthers, that they can’t afford to have a letdown, particularly on offense.

In fact, with three new faces on a defense that was already breaking in several new players, the offense might actually be relied upon more than ever to be the reason why the Steelers win.

“We always want to have that urgency,” said Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. “We always want to put 30 points on the board and dominate on offense. Is there going to be a little more of it this week and probably the next couple of weeks because of injuries? Probably. But we have to be careful not to get caught up in trying to do too much to protect our defense because our defense will be fine.”

One of the new players on defense will be third-year linebacker Sean Spence, who will make his first career start in place of Shazier, who is out two to three weeks with a sprained knee.

Spence knows something about knee injuries. The 2012 third-round draft pick suffered a torn ACL, LCL, dislocated his kneecap and suffered nerve damage so severe in a preseason game in his rookie season that doctors feared he might never walk again.

“It’s been a dream of mine since I was a little kid,” Spence said of starting in the NFL. “It’s going to be very emotional. I’ll try to hold my tears back; I’m not so sure, but I know it will be emotional.”

So, too, will be the return of former All-Pro linebacker James Harrison for fans. Harrison was signed out of retirement this week to back up Arthur Moats, who will replace Jones in the starting lineup while he recovers from wrist surgery.

“I don’t think Mike brought him back not to dress him,” defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau said, referring to head coach Mike Tomlin.

The Buccaneers know a little something about changes. They have 23 players on their roster who weren’t with the team in 2013 and have just two players on their roster who were with the team before the 2011 season – defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and offensive tackle Demar Dotson.

Tampa Bay also will be making a change at quarterback this week as Josh McCown, brought over from Chicago with head coach Lovie Smith, will sit out with a thumb injury. Mike Glennon, the starter as a rookie in 2013, will get his first start this season.

He’ll face a reworked secondary that won’t include Taylor, who suffered a broken arm in the win over the Panthers.

“We’ve all got to step up and do our job,” said cornerback William Gay, who will be one of the players counted on to replace Taylor. “We can’t afford for there to be a dropoff. Losing Ike hurts. But we have to move on.”

Losing this game would hurt even worse.

In the next three weeks, the Steelers face the winless Bucs and Jaguars, then travel to Cleveland to face the one-win Browns.

A loss to the Buccaneers would erase any gains from last week’s victory.

“We are looking to build off the momentum that we had last Sunday and bring it back to our place,” said Tomlin. “It’s good to be back home after two games on the road. The Buccaneers are thirsty for a victory.”

Former California University star Rishaw Johnson, a guard, is a member of the Buccaneers after being traded there by Kansas City during training camp. … Steelers receiver Antonio Brown needs five receptions and 50 yards to set an NFL record with 20 consecutive games with at least that many receptions and yards. … The Steelers are the only team in the NFL entering Week 4 with a passer who has thrown for more than 750 yards (Roethlisberger), a running back with more than 300 yards (Le’Veon Bell) and a receiver with more than 250 yards (Brown). … The Steelers lead the all-time series with Tampa Bay, 8-1.