Mistakes break Steelers in stunner
Buccaneers wide receiver Vincent Jackson makes the game-winning catch in front of Steelers cornerback William Gay with seven seconds left in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game at Heinz Field.
Ben Roethlisberger is sacked by Tampa Bay defensive tackle Gerald McCoy in the first quarter.
Buccaneers quarterback Mike Glennon and Steelers strong safety Troy Polamalu scramble for a loose football in the third quarter Sunday.
PITTSBURGH – Missed opportunities, mistakes and all-around poor plays.
They were what plagued the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout their first three games, each ending in aloss.
The Bucs turned the tables on the Steelers Sunday at Heinz Field.
Backup quarterback Mike Glennon threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Vincent Jackson with seven seconds remaining and Tampa Bay took advantage of 13 Pittsburgh penalties and a crucial first-quarter turnover to beat the Steelers, 27-24.
“This game was in our hands,” said offensive tackle Marcus Gilbert. “We didn’t do a good enough job closing it out. It slipped right out of our hands.”
The Steelers (2-2) had multiple chances to win, but they allowed the Bucs (1-3) to hang around.
Finally, Tampa Bay took advantage.
Pittsburgh took a 24-17 lead on a touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Heath Miller midway through the third quarter. Miller caught a career-high 10 passes for 85 yards.
But Tampa Bay closed the gap with a field goal early in the fourth quarter, and the Steelers missed a big opportunity to close the game out on their next possession when Antonio Brown dropped a well-executed flea-flicker inside the Tampa Bay 20-yard line.
“I should have brought down that catch,” said Brown, who had seven catches for 131 yards and two touchdowns, setting an NFL record with his 20th consecutive game with at least five receptions and 50 yards.
“Maybe it would have been a difference in the outcome of the game.”
As it was, the Steelers put the game in the hands of their defense – twice.
The Steelers forced the Bucs to turn the ball over on downs from the 14, giving Pittsburgh’s offense, which had 390 total yards, the ball back with 1:44 remaining.
After a short run by Le’Veon Bell on first down, Tampa Bay called its second timeout. However, center Maurkice Pouncey was penalized for a false start – Pittsburgh’s 13th penalty – pushing the Steelers back to their own 11.
Following a short completion by Roethlisberger, who threw for 314 yards and three touchdowns, and another run by Bell, the Steelers were forced to punt with 50 seconds remaining.
Brian Wing’s kick traveled just 29 yards and the Bucs took over at the Pittsburgh 46 with 40 seconds left and no timeouts.
They wouldn’t need any.
After Glennon was nearly sacked by Jason Worilds on first down, he completed a 41-yard catch-and-run over the middle to Louis Murphy that put the ball at the Pittsburgh 5.
“It stinks. It’s horrible,” said safety Mike Mitchell. “I feel sick. It’s a game we should have won.”
The Steelers still had a chance to win, but on third-and-goal from the 5, Glennon threw an out route to Jackson for the go-ahead score. Jackson was working against William Gay,
“That’s their go-to receiver,” said Gay, who signaled to officials he felt Jackson pushed off to create space to make the catch. “He’s been doing it for a long time. He won. I didn’t.”
Glennon passed for 302 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.
“It would have been tough to sleep tonight if we didn’t get another chance or win this game because those are throws that I need to make if we’re going to win,” Glennon said.
It ruined what would have been a nice comeback for the Steelers, who fell behind 10-0 early, in part because Roethlisberger was sacked and fumbled on the opening possession to set up a 9-yard touchdown pass from Glennon to rookie Mike Evans.
Pittsburgh tied the score on its next two possessions, with Shaun Suisham making his team-record 24th consecutive field goal, a 25-yarder, and Roethlisberger connecting with Brown for an 11-yard TD.
The Steelers grabbed a 17-10 lead on their fourth possession, with Roethlisberger throwing a 27-yard TD pass to Brown. But a chance to extend that lead at the end of the half was negated when Roethlisberger was sacked by Daquan Bowers – one of five sacks by Tampa Bay – to push the Steelers back to the Bucs’ 32. Suisham pushed a 50-yard attempt wide right on the final play of the first half.
“I think there is a lot we could second-guess ourselves on and wish we could have done better,” said Miller. “It’s too late for that now.
“They fought hard all day, hung in the game, and we didn’t put them away when we had our chances.”
Roethlisberger surpassed 35,000 yards passing in his career, becoming just the 12th player in NFL history to throw for that many yards with the same team. … Bell had 63 yards on 19 carries and caught six passes for 46 yards to become the first Steelers player to open a season with 100 total yards in four consecutive games. … Linebacker James Harrison, signed earlier in the week, split time at outside linebacker with Arthur Moats. Moats had one tackle, Harrison none.