It’s time for PewterReport.com’s 2-Point Conversion post-game column, which features two statements, two questions and two predictions based on the latest Bucs game. Tampa Bay’s hot start to the 2018 season came to a screeching halt when winless Pittsburgh got its first victory of the year at Raymond James Stadium, 30-27, after building a 30-10 halftime lead and hanging on for the win.
TWO BIG STATEMENTS
Table of Contents
STATEMENT 1: From FitzMagic To FitzTragic
There was not enough magic in Tampa Bay quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to lead the Bucs back from a 20-point deficit on Monday Night Football. The Bucs backup-turned-starter due to Jameis Winston’s suspension had a magical start to the 2018 season throwing for over 800 yards and eight touchdowns and winning back-to-back NFC Offensive Player of the Week Awards while leading the Bucs to a 2-0 start.
But FitzMagic turned into FitzTragic in the first half as he threw three first half interceptions on three consecutive passes, including an awful pick-six from the Bucs’ end zone that was returned 10 yards for a touchdown by Steelers linebacker Bud Dupree to give Pittsburgh a 23-7 lead late in the second half. Bucs head coach Dirk Koetter said the team’s protection wasn’t as good as it was the first two weeks of the season.
“Yeah, [four] turnovers in the first half,” Koetter said. “We just did so many things in the first half of that game that we haven’t been doing, so many things to beat ourselves. Blown coverage on their first touchdown, [four] turnovers, multiple misses on protection. We’ve been doing a great job in protection and tonight wasn’t as good. Give the Steelers their credit. They got us tonight. I’m really proud of the way we fought. [When] you’re down three touchdowns or three scores at halftime, it’s not easy to come back in this league. We gave ourselves a chance there at the end and just couldn’t pull it off. Unfortunate, but we’ve got to move forward.”
Fitzpatrick rallied the Bucs to within 10 points late in the game, but a holding penalty on safety Isaiah Johnson negated a long punt return for a touchdown by DeSean Jackson that would have brought the Bucs to with three points, 30-27, with just over eight minutes to go. Tampa Bay eventually scored a touchdown on that drive, but had to travel 92 yards to do so. Mike Evans’ 24-yard touchdown came after the Bucs burned three precious minutes off the clock.
The Bucs got the ball back after yet another stop by Tampa Bay’s defense, which held Pittsburgh scoreless in the second half after giving up 23 points. But with 3:02 left and two timeouts, Fitzpatrick went 0-for-3 with incompletions to Evans, Adam Humphries and tight end Cameron Brate. Instead of going for it on fourth down, Koetter opted to punt due to the pair of timeouts and the two-minute warning.
“Obviously, the lower [the yardage to go] gets, the higher your percentage,” Koetter said. “But fourth-and-10, you’re talking about 20 percent or less odds. It would be one thing if you had no timeouts, but with two timeouts plus the two minutes, it’s sixes right now. It doesn’t matter. Either way, we lost.”
In the end it was too little, too late for Fitzpatrick and a Bucs offense that saw its red zone woes from last year return on Monday night. Fitzpatrick’s first interception came on a tipped pass from the Pittsburgh 12-yard line. Then the Bucs had to settle for a 21-yard and a 28-yard field goal in the second and third quarters, respectively, despite being inside the Steelers’ 10-yard line twice on those drives. Ultimately, those red zone issues and four turnovers, including three by Fitzpatrick, were the story of the game.
Fitzpatrick finished the game completing 30-of-50 passing for 411 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. He became the first quarterback in Tampa Bay history to throw for 400 yards in three consecutive games, and Fitzpatrick likely get the starting nod this week in Chicago because of how he played in the second half – not how he played in the first.
STATEMENT 2: Bucs’ Tackling At Times Was Awful
While Fitzpatrick’s three first-half interceptions sealed Tampa Bay’s doom early, especially his pick-six in the second quarter, the Bucs defense didn’t do much to help out the offense, 23 of the Steelers’ 30 first-half points. Tackling was a big issue at some of the most inopportune times for Tampa Bay’s defense, which pitched a shutout in the second half.

Bucs S Chris Conte – Photo by: Mary Holt/PR
Bucs strong safety Chris Conte got posterized when he was violently stiff-armed to the ground by Steelers tight end Vance McDonald on a 75-yard catch-and-run. Conte re-injured his knee on the play and could miss some time depending on the severity of the injury. Rookie Jordan Whitehead figures to get his first NFL start next week at Chicago.
Later in the first half, cornerback Brent Grimes, who had an awful training camp and preseason, whiffed on a tackle attempt on wide receiver Antonio Brown on his 27-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Grimes returned to action this week, but looks like a shell of his former self at age 35.
It’s a shame that Ryan Smith didn’t see more action at cornerback this week, especially after having a fantastic game last week against Philadelphia. He’s a much better tackler.
The Bucs defense recorded three sacks and hit Ben Roethlisberger nine times, but the veteran quarterback bounced off of defensive end Vinny Curry twice and escaped a key sack attempt from Pro Bowl defensive tackle Gerald McCoy on second-and-10 to complete an 18-yard catch to JuJu Smith-Schuster to pick up a first down and seal the victory.
Tampa Bay did an okay job tackling in the run game, but wasn’t in position to limit the Steelers receivers’ yards after catch, especially rookie cornerback M.J. Stewart, who was victimized for the second week in a row by opposing quarterbacks. A prime example of this was Roethlisberger targeting Stewart repeatedly on a touchdown drive right before the half with 1:15 remaining. Roethlisberger was 7-of-8 for 75 yards on that scoring drive. Had the Bucs held the Steelers to a field goal right before halftime there is chance Tampa Bay could have won 27-26 with that four-point differential.
After being held for 12 yards on 10 carries through the first three quarters, Steelers running back James Connor broke off three long runs in the fourth quarter, including a 27-yarder, a 9-yarder and a 17-yarder, the last of which came on the final Steelers’ drive to ice the win.
TWO PROBING QUESTIONS
QUESTION 1: Who Will Start At Quarterback In Chicago?
Koetter was non-committal when asked if Fitzpatrick had done enough to warrant another start at quarterback when the Bucs travel to Chicago to play the Bears on Sunday despite Winston returning from his three-game suspension on Tuesday.
“Yeah, we’ll see,” Koetter said. “Let’s see what the injury report comes back. Any time we have these games, it’s not always obvious how the guys are going to come in the next day and come in on Wednesday. Let’s see what happens. I’d love to get a chance to talk to Jameis face-to-face before I tell the rest of the world. Look, we’ve got a good football team. I’m proud of these guys. We came up short today and everyone now will jump back off the bandwagon [and] rightfully so. We’ve got to go on the road our next two games and it’s hard to win on the road. We’ve got to get back to business on Wednesday.”
The educated guess here is that it’s Fitzpatrick given the fact that he has completed 78-of-111 passes (70.2 percent) for 1,230 yards with 11 touchdowns and four interceptions through the first three games.
When asked if deserved the right to continue on as the starter, Fitzpatrick said: “Well, I’m happy with the way the first two games went. I’m not happy with the way that I turned the ball over today, the way that I didn’t finish that fourth quarter drive. So there are a lot of things that I think I could have done better today.
“You know, I have so much fun playing this game. I have fun playing with these guys. I’m here just ready to do whatever it takes to help the team win and I think that will be my mindset going forward.”
QUESTION 2: Will RoJo Ever Be Active This Season?
Unless there is an injury to starter Peyton Barber, backup Jacquizz Rodgers or rookie Shaun Wilson, who is the team’s kick returner and reserve back, there is a decent chance that running back Ronald Jones II, the team’s second-round pick in 2018, could be inactive all year with the Bucs treating his rookie season like a redshirt year. What’s holding Jones back is that he’s a one-dimensional player right now, only capable of running the ball.

Bucs RB Ronald Jones II – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
The Bucs don’t have confidence in Jones as a pass protector, and he showed shaky hands during training camp and the preseason. That rules out Jones for third downs. Jones also doesn’t play on special teams in the return game or in coverage, so he doesn’t have any value on fourth downs. It’s just hard to find a role for Jones on game days, and given his production, which was one yard per carry, in four preseason games, he didn’t do enough to warrant building in 10-15 touches per game.
I know that the Bucs have gotten zero production from Jones, and defensive tackle Vita Vea, the team’s first-round pick, thus far in the 2018 campaign, but keep in mind that Tampa Bay is 2-1 without Vea and Jones without them. Jones seems in store for a developmental year behind the scenes, but he would certainly develop quicker if he got some playing time.
TWO BOLD PREDICTIONS
PREDICTION 1: Fitzpatrick Starts And Loses In Chicago
The Buccaneers do in fact start Fitzpatrick although Koetter might not reveal that until later in the week. Why give Chicago, this week’s opponent, any head’s up or advanced intel? I believe that Fitzpatrick and Tampa Bay’s offensive line struggle against Khalil Mack and a much-improved Bears front four – so much so that Winston may be pressed into duty at one point.
The Bucs will lose in Chicago and fall to 2-2 on the season, and if Fitzpatrick falters like I believe he will, that will open the door to full-blown quarterback controversy during the bye week after the Bears game.
PREDICTION 2: Vea Gets His First NFL Action Next Week
Vea, the Bucs’ first-round pick this year, returned to practice this week I thought he might see his first NFL action against Pittsburgh, especially due to the fact that nose tackle Beau Allen was out with a foot injury. Yet despite Tampa Bay only having two defensive tackles suited up in McCoy and Jerel Worthy, Vea was listed as “out” on Saturday as he continues his comeback from his calf injury.
The Bucs may be inclined to rest him one more week and then give him the bye week to fully recover and play against Atlanta in Week 6. But I think there is a sense of urgency within the organization to play Vea and get him the experience he desperately needs after missing virtually all of training camp and all four preseason games. So you’ll see No. 50 in a white jersey on Sunday for the first time.
The tragedy was not Fitz; it was the pass protection. The red zone pick was a batted ball on an unblocked rusher. The pick six was a hit on the throwing arm. The Evans pick – Evans sat down in the soft spot in the zone while Fitz tried to throw him open for a big play; it happens. Despite getting beat up, Fitz rallied the team and made it a winnable game with under three minutes left to play. They lost a game they should have won to a good team on a sloppy field. McCoy made a great… Read more »
I respectfully disagree with you on the Evans pick. Your comment is what the announcers were trying to say but when you go back and look at it, the pass sailed high. It did not carry farther out to the left. His depth perception was just like the pick six to Quizz. It sailed…
I do however whole heartedly agree with the rest of your statements including that the Bucs win next week and I think they win decisively.
Go Bucs!
Evans said that it was his fault. Perfect pass either way? Nope…but if your 6’5 receiver is there to make a play on the ball, at the very least its not getting picked.
Passes sailed on Fitz quite a few times. Or they fizzled and one-hopped to the receiver. It wasn’t his night.
I don’t draft a running back in the second round because of his pass pro. We need to get this kid on the field to help his development. Quizz didn’t exactly do a good job with his pass pro tonight, and adds nothing with his running ability. Barber had a huge hole to run through that could’ve been a T.D. had he had Jone’s speed. Keeping Wilson active for running back kick offs is stupid. None of his returns went past the twenty, we’d have been better off if he let the ball go out the end zone. Time to… Read more »
I agree with everything you said with the exception of Quizz’s pass protection. He was picking up guys well in the second half. I saw some blitzer’s run free in the first half and didn’t go back to see who the culprit was. I know Dotson was victimized at least once. If Fitz took a beating with him, imagine how bad it will go with RoJo. This is the conundrum the coaching staff faces and this is why RoJo sits. As much as I hate seeing our weaksauce run game, I’d rather have a blitz pickup for our downfield game… Read more »
Passing on Derwin James looks worse by the week. Conte shouldn’t even be in the lineup
And now he’s not after trying to tackle a TE up high… And getting JACKED UP. Imagine D Brooks disgust from the sidelines on some of these whiffed tackles.
How does passing on Dalvin Cook look?
Totally with you. I was all aboard the Dalvin train too. At least the guy Tampa took in his place, OJ Howard, looks like a stud too.
Thought this was a pro-Dalvin comment, but seeing from your comments below, it’s not. Howard has looked like a stud but so has Dalvin when he’s been on the field. Barber has 129 yards and a 2.9YPC through three games, so don’t act like this team couldn’t use a legit RB.
“(RoJo is a) one-dimensional player right now, only capable of running the ball”. Here’s my issue with saying that: Peyton Barber: last night 7 runs for 15 yards (and 1 run for 18). No catches, 2 misses. Not much that I could see in pass pro. On the year he has sub 3 yards per carry. Jacquizz Rodgers: last night 2 runs for -1 yards. 2 catches for 18, 1 miss. Missed his block badly at least twice that I saw in pass pro. On the year he has sub 2 yards per carry and has 7 yards per reception.… Read more »
The bar is absolutely ankle high right now.
One thing that just occurred to me reading through the comments as to why Quizz might have been in instead of RoJo… With Winston still out, there’s only Griff after Fitz. Maybe now that we’re 3 deep again RoJo can convince the staff to put him in the game if he turns in some good pass protection awareness at practice.
It was a disappointing loss.
But did anyone think we would go 16-0. GO BUCS
Fitz should start vs the Bears. Bucs have a bye week after that game and they’ll have two weeks to get ready for Winston to take over. I agree I think we come out of Chicago 2-2 on the season. Which isn’t bad, still 12 games after that.
It’s time to activate Ronald Jones. Bucs have zero run game currently.
I can see a Mike Smith mid season firing.
I would love a mid-season Smith firing. Unfortunately it will have meant we’ve dropped 3 or 4 in a row. A 2018 PRE-season firing was the opportunity we missed out on.
You can’t fire a coach every time the team loses a game. Geez. I liked how the defense played except for two guys…Grimes and Conte. Everyone else was accountable. The Steelers score on EVERYONE.
True, you can’t fire a coach after a single loss, but look at Smith’s stats as DC:
2016 – #23
2017 – #32 (DFL)
2018 – #31 (so far)
That’s pretty damning.
True, but he should have been fired in the offseason. So it’s not like he’s sucked this season only.
FitzTragic is stupid hyperbole. Really,Scott,is that all you got as a lifetime Bucs writer? Fitz made three throws that resulted in picks, but they were not stupid throws, as Freeman wrote above, tipped balls and defenders getting a hit on his arm as he threw were the proximate causes. And Scott sent the fourth quarter comeback entirely down the memory hole. 17 points against none in the fourth quarter, good jobs by both the offense and the defense in the second half, holding Big Ben scoreless. Where I saw worrisome stuff was the way that Pittsburgh’s runners and receivers just… Read more »
Chicago sucks. Their offense is putrid. Our defense can outscore their offense. Jameis comes back and hangs 30 on the vaunted Bears defense and Kalil Mack.
Bucs Win 30-6
I can’t say I am disappointed. Bucs are doing far better than I expected. We should have won last night, but we probably should have lost to the Eagles. In a three point loss, it is natural to look at the officiating and I am scratching my head on a couple of calls. Not sure McCoy roughed up Ben in the end zone. And, I think that the refs took a TD away from Godwin. I felt pretty iffy about the game last night going in and it could have been a blowout the way things were going in the… Read more »
Hey guys, sorry I spammed the board a bit. I’m out of market so don’t get to see my Bucs very often. And BECAUSE I go long stretches without seeing them, holy smokes I had FUN watching that game. I admit, I left and played video games for much of the 3rd quarter because of that brutal pick six from our own 6 yard line… Fitz had that deer in headlights look there for a bit and the Steelers… Filthy team that they are, were getting contact on every play, getting in his head. But something told me to go… Read more »
Winston should start. I’m sure he studied the Bears while he was practicing on his own. Poor tackling killed us. Mike Smith idea that Grimes can play 5 to 10 yards behind the first down line is nuts. Let’s play the rookies and let them learn. Rojo should start behind Barber. This is still a good team and let’s let Winston lead us back to a win in Chicago. Please let’s don’t go by what the Bucs did in the last quarter. Most teams have done the same thing when they are up by 20 they get conservative and the… Read more »
Dont blame Mike Smith for that. Blame Grimes for that. That’s where Grimes wants to play. Every other corner was pressing. Davis pressed when he was on AB. That is 100% on Grimes.
Oh, so the DC has no say-so??????!
I’m sorry but what do we have to lose putting RoJo in there. He can’t do any worse than our running backs are doing now. See what we’ve got in RoJo good or bad. We might be surprised.
Rough on last night and we clearly beat ourselves. The line looked rough all night, 3/4 defenses will do that to you. Conte, regardless of injury ,should not start another game for this team and Grimes looked awful. Good game from the rooks,especially grading AB. We came out of this gauntlet 2-1 which ain’t bad. I thi k futz goes next week to give James some time and hes back after the buy week. But fitz reverted back a bit. We cant excuse 2 of those ints, they were awful throws. The one to mike wouldve never been caught no… Read more »
Chargers are 1-2 and giving up a ton of points, so I just don’t get the Derwin James is “lighting it up.”
While they are 1-2, the losses aren’t all on him. In case you haven’t been watching him, he’s been playing like the DROY front runner.
Do you think he would have got stiff armed the way that Conte did?
James has a couple sacks and a pick. The chargers defense is ranked as bad as the Bucs. James is decent, but I will wait to see what Vea does when he comes back 100%. Whitehead has looked as good as James and the Bucs got him 100 picks later.
Also, no knocks on the big man and his injury please. People who wanted James are the same homers who wanted Dalvin Cook instead of OJ. Cook can’t stay on the field and OJ is a future Pro Bowler and a BEAST.
Good points
Derwin has twice as many tackles than Whitehead, plus two sacks and a pick. They aren’t remotely playing at the same level. For someone calling out FSU homers, you’re looking pretty biased yourself.
Whitehead isn’t starting though so the numbers SHOULD be skewed. From what I’ve seen he’s been playing well and should be up next with Conte out
This is hardly the end of the world. We beat ourselves far more than the Steelers beat us and this team showed heart. We’ll be fine and with the first loss out of the way, we don’t need to deal with the absurd levels of hype anymore.
As long as Jaquez Rodgers can make this team, the Bucs are in trouble. ROJO needs some PT. If he gets enough carries, he’ll break some runs. I bet the Bucs could pick up free agent backs or rob someone’s practice squad or even trade for a better back than we currently carry behind Barber.
The status of ROJO and Vea are cause for concern. Either our player personel folks don’t know how to evaluate talent or our coaches don’t know how to coach talent.
Vea will be back either this week or after the bye. It’s not really fair to call anyone a bust because of an injury. I definitely see him improving our run defense which would have come in handy on that last drive against Pitt.
This was a highly entertaining, though very sloppy game. For the first time in years, the Buccaneers have an identity as a high octane passing team. For the past ten years they’ve lacked any identity at all. I believe that Fitz just became the first quarterback ever to throw for 400 yards in the first three games of the season. I admire how he bounced back in the second half. Their play in the red zone was the difference in the game. This team has HEART! This is what they showed in the last four or five games last year.… Read more »
I agree about the second half defense. I thought the defense was decent all night except for Conte’s play and Grimes giving AB 8-10 yards of cushion every time he covered him(or anyone else for that matter).
I also think our coaching staff needs to rethink the conventional wisdom on down/distance and how you play call late in the game. Our offense needs to win or lose us the game. Our defense isn’t ready yet to win us a game. Go down throwing if you have to.
Lets call it like it was guys. We were Manhandled by a bigger and stronger team Monday night.Especailly our secondary. That Conte trampoling will be run repeatedly in NFL commericals forever. It was like a pissed off Elephant throwing a small wild african dog around! Yes we have an Offense. But what good is scoring 30 when your opposition scores 31?? You won’t win many shootouts in this league. Our defense still sucks! And who is to blame for this? Why its none other than Koetters right hand man, Defensive Coordinator..pressbox Smitty! I just hope the Glazers make Koetter fire… Read more »
Man you have unrealistic expectations.
Their offense scored 24. Their defense scored 6.
Their offense is prolific and their cheating/flopping/cheap shots rivals the Patriots. They have a top 5 offense every year. Our defense did a decent job except for 3 plays. Conte, Grimes, Grimes were the factor on the 3 plays.
To have the Bucs defense from 2002, you just need HOFers at DT, DE, LB, CB, S!!! It isn’t the coach.
I guess you didn’t see all the missed tackles which causes a lot of yardage and points.
One loss and the Negative Nancy’s show back up which is what Mike seems to be. This Team battled. This Team came up short. This Team will learn from this and likely get better because of it. Someone stated earlier that now the “loss monky” is off their back, the unrelenting pressure goes too. We were not going undefeated. Get a grip Mike. This defense played really well the second half and the glaring issues (Conte & Grimes) will get addressed. Slow you role Mike. I know you have been waiting to spew your negativity but you will not bring… Read more »
I don’t care what we do, as long as we either bench or cut Chris Conte, I don’t care if he has experience, that man tried to tackle that TE way to high..I’m sick of seeing conte.
I listened to Dirk Koetter’s press conference. I think it is a terrible decision, but it’s pretty obvious he is going with Fitzpatrick going forward. If I am correct and I was Jameis agent I would ask for a trade(Ian Beckles said the same thing) and let the team know he doesn’t plan on resigning with the Bucs. The Giants would make the most sense for Jamies and I think he could win a lot of games for the Giants. Unfortunately, the Bucs will need to start over at the QB position and hope they pick high enough to get… Read more »
A bit premature on asking Winston to take his ball and go home. He won’t do that because he is a competitor. He also isn’t stupid, at least when he’s not drunk.
We’ll see how the rest of this season plays out.
Jameis doesn’t have an agent.
Jamies does have a new agent. The same agent that represents Khalil Mack. He was able to force the Raiders hand into trading Mack and my guess is there is a good chance he will do the same with Jamies if the Bucs coaches stick with Fitzpatrick.
Rick Stroud
@NFLSTROUD
@DeniseWhite_EAG announced Winston’s hiring of Joel Segal of Lagardère SportsLagardère Sports, calling him a “powerhouse” agent. He also represents Bucs WR DeSean Jackson, LB K. Beckwith, CB Carlton Davis
11:03 AM – Sep 24, 2018
Agree Jameis should start after Bears game or possibly in it if Fitz throws more int’s. People act surprised he stunk. Hey it’s easy to play QB when you aren’t touched. When protection breaks down and can’t run at all it’s lot harder. Jameis has had last year, no run game,nfl worst defense, and pass blocking wasn’t good either. Now that team seems be better it’s time to see what he can do and decide if we are keeping him or not. I sure don’t want to start another QB search so I’m hoping Winston’s pre season play continues. Fitz… Read more »
Putting up three 400+ yard games plus 3 or 4 TDs per game for the first time in the history of the NFL, and you want to yank him because he’s a career backup (which, btw, isn’t true)?
Winstonism is rampant, and needs treatment, because its victims lose their ability to think rationally about football.
Bottom line. When we beat the Bears we will be 3-1 in the first quarter of the season. 1-0 in the Div. 3-0 in the NFC. 3-1 a top of our Division. (with some other Div teams) If we were gonna loose a game out of the first 4 games an AFC opponent loss was the bast situation. Winston will be back after the buy week most likely no matter what some may want. If not week 4. Which i doubt. Either way it’s nothing to be worrying about. GO BUCS!!!
I think it’s time to activate Ronald Jones…and that’s the first time I’ve said that. Rodgers is absolutely useless. He’s so unathletic and slow…Barber is better in pass protection…Shaun Wilson had a terrible night as a kick returner. Those guys aren’t really providing any value that should keep Jones inactive. Just because Rodgers knows the offense….but does a poor job executing it when given chances…and Jones happens to play on special teams…even though Humphries would probably be an upgrade at kick returner…doesn’t mean they should continue to play. I’d rather see Ogunbowale called up from the practice squad than have… Read more »