This was suppose to be it.

It was suppose to be the turning of the tide.

It wasn’t.

Not only did the Bucs lose by a score of 30-27 to the Pittsburgh Steelers , the offense imploded about as bad as it possibly could have in the first half.

After electing to defer to the second half, the Bucs started the game on defense. That proved to be the right choice after a conservative play call by the Steelers resulted in a punt. However, when the Bucs did receive the ball for the first time, the No. 2 offense in the NFL couldn’t do anything with it themselves and punted it right back.

On the next Steelers drive, they started to get things going with a nice 4-play drive. But and interception by Buccaneers safety Justin Evans negated that momentum and gave it right back to Tampa Bay. Five plays later, quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick threw an easy touchdown pass to tight end Cameron Brate.

But all that did was wake the Steelers offense up, as a 3-play drive, led by a 75-yard catch from tight end Vance McDonald. However, a missed extra point meant the Bucs kept the lead 7-6.

The Bucs had a decent drive after that, one that went 47 yards in seven plays, but it just resulted in a punt. When the Steelers got the ball back, they took it 72 yards on nine plays and that was enough to get into field goal range to give the Steelers their first lead of the game at 9-7.

On the next Bucs possession, a big catch by wide receiver Chris Godwin ended up in disaster as he fumbled going for extra yards. Two plays later, it was Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown scampering into the end zone untouched for a score. That gave the Steelers a 16-7 lead.

But the turnovers didn’t stop there. On the next Bucs drive, Fitzpatrick threw yet another interception after they were knocking on the door of a touchdown in the red zone. After a 4-play drive and a punt from the Steelers, the Bucs got the ball back and the disasters continued with another interception. However, even that Pittsburgh drive ended in a punt. But on the next possession, the Buccaneers yet again threw an interception, that one was returned for a touchdown. That gave Pittsburgh a 23-7 lead.

The Bucs took the ball down 75 yards in six plays, ended with a field goal right before the half and a score of 23-10. But they left too much time on the clock and the Steelers took advantage with yet another touchdown. The game went into half time 30-10.

The second half wasn’t much more kind to the Buccaneers than the first half was. The Bucs got the ball back and orchestrated a 14-play, 65-yard drive, but it ended in just three points, barely cutting into the Steelers lead at 30-13. Pittsburgh then took their next drive 46 yards, which ended in a missed field goal, but in 11 plays and over six minutes of clock, which all but ended the third quarter with just two drives.

On the Buccaneers’ next drive, they drove the ball 63 yards in 12 plays, and on that twelfth play, Chris Godwin came down in the end zone for a touchdown. The score then became 30-20.

The Bucs held firm on their next defensive stand, and as the Steelers punted the ball to DeSean Jackson, he made them pay. Jackson ran the punt back more than 70 yards for a score, but a flag for holding brought it all back. But, in the end, all was well, as a long drive by the Buccaneers ended in a six-point touchdown pass to Mike Evans for a score of 30-27, Steelers still in the lead.

After giving up two big runs to start the next drive, the Bucs defense held firm and forced a punt, giving the Bucs one more sliver of hope.

But after three failed plays, the Bucs were forced to punt.

And after a completed pass for a first down, that was all she wrote with a final score of 30-27 in favor of the Pittsburgh Steelers.