Steelers stun Brady, Bucs
>> Mitch Trubisky stood on the Acrisure Stadium sideline two weeks ago with a baseball cap on, his future uncertain and his chance at proving he’s a capable NFL starting quarterback all but gone.
He didn’t complain. Or throw a tantrum. Or give up his captaincy for that matter, an honorarium that requires him to lead, something Trubisky kept doing even while helping rookie Kenny Pickett prepare to be the face of the Pittsburgh Steelers for years to come.
While Pickett remains very much the face of the future, for one remarkable quarter on Sunday, Trubisky seized the present and offered a glimpse of the player he believes he can still be while helping orchestrate a stunning 20-18 victory over Tom Brady and the suddenly adrift Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“Mitch was put in a tough spot and he never wavered,” said Pittsburgh wide receiver Chase Claypool, whose 6-yard touchdown reception with 9:59 remaining provided the winning points. “Love that guy.”
Pittsburgh (2-4) snapped a four-game losing streak behind 144 yards passing from Trubisky — who filled in after Pickett went into the concussion protocol late in the third quarter — and a largely anonymous defense that somehow found a way to beat Brady, a task far more star-studded versions of the Steelers have failed to do through the years.
“We ain’t back yet,” defensive end Cam Heyward said after Pittsburgh toppled Brady for just the fourth time in 16 tries. “We’ve still got work to do.”
Maybe, but Pittsburgh avoided its worst start in 34 years by keeping Brady in check for long stretches. The 45-yearold struggled to have his way with a Steelers secondary missing four of its top five players, including star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Brady completed 25 of 40 passes for 243 yards and a touchdown but also saw drives bog down consistently in the red zone. Four times Tampa Bay drove inside the Pittsburgh 20. Three times the drive ended with Ryan Succop kicking a field goal instead of an extra-point attempt.
“We didn’t earn the win,” Brady said after his team lost for the third time in four weeks. “It’s a game of earning it and it’s a game of playing well and performing well and we’re just not doing a good job of that. I don’t think we’ve done it for six weeks. I think we’re all playing less than what we’re capable of.”
The seven-time Super Bowl champion let his teammates know it. At one point cameras caught Brady excoriating an offensive line that let the Steelers — who had barely produced much of a pass rush since T.J. Watt went down with a left pectoral injury in the season opener — make Brady far more uncomfortable than he’s used to.
“It’s all of us,” Brady said. “It’s our whole offense . ... Obviously there’s no position that’s performing at an elite level right now.”