With 19 players inactive — most of them being regulars — the Bucs returned to Raymond James Stadium Friday night for their preseason opener against the Steelers. In a game that featured a lot of new faces and the debut of a new offensive scheme under first-time offensive coordinator Dave Canales, the Bucs were extremely sloppy, losing 27-17.

After Tampa Bay opened with a three-and-out, Pittsburgh’s starting offense went to work against the home team’s backup defense. Despite some flashes from rookie outside linebacker Yaya Diaby and strong play by fellow outside linebacker Anthony Nelson, Kenny Pickett marched the Steelers right down the field. He converted two third-and-longs, with the second resulting in a 33-yard touchdown pass to George Pickens. Very quickly, it was a 7-0 lead for the visitors.

Bucs RB Chase Edmonds – Photo by: USA Today

Penalty problems plagued the Bucs on offense for much of the first quarter, with an illegal formation call and a holding penalty halting their second drive. But after the defense forced a Pittsburgh three-and-out, Baker Mayfield and Chase Edmonds led the offense down the field. Tampa Bay got some help from an unnecessary roughness call, but runs of eight and six yards by Edmonds coupled with a completion to David Moore got the Bucs to the Steelers’ 25 as the first quarter came to a close.

Biggest Play For The Bucs

A 10-yard pass from Mayfield to Kaylon Geiger opened the second quarter and got the Bucs in the red zone for the first time. Three plays later, Mayfield lofted a beautiful ball to Trey Palmer, who came down with it in the corner of the end zone for an eight-yard touchdown. With Chase McLaughlin’s extra point, the game was tied at 7-7.

Tampa Bay kept momentum going from there, with the first play of Pittsburgh’s ensuing possession resulting in a Zyon McCollum interception. But the momentum was short-lived, as the Bucs were stuffed on third and fourth downs on their next drive and the Steelers regained possession near midfield. It didn’t take long for their Mitch Trubisky-led drive to reach the red zone, then Anthony McFarland Jr. scored on a run from 14 yards out. With 8:18 to go in the first half, the Steelers had a 14-7 lead.

Kyle Trask entered the game at quarterback on the Bucs’ next drive, and he had a promising start, finding David Moore for a 23-yard gain. But after a Luke Goedeke holding penalty backed Tampa Bay up to an eventual 3rd & 19, Trask threw for Moore again and was instead intercepted by Trenton Thompson.

Bucs P Jake Camarda – Photo by: USA Today

Trask’s other drive in the first half ended in a three-and-out, but he had little help. Goedeke allowed a first-down sack and Ko Kieft dropped a would-be first down on 3rd & 6, leading to another Camarda punt. Pittsburgh then added a 30-yard B.T. Potter field goal at the end of the half to take a 17-7 lead into the locker room.

The start of the third quarter didn’t bring much in the way of improvements for Tampa Bay, with a 38-yard defensive pass interference penalty leading to another Potter field goal — making it 20-7 — before another sack of Trask led to a three-and-out on the Bucs’ next drive.

Bucs Allow A Huge TD

Bad got worse for the Bucs’ backup cornerbacks from there, too. The Steelers extended their lead to 27-7 on their next possession, with Calvin Austin beating Don Gardner for a 67-yard touchdown from Mason Rudolph.

Even when Tampa Bay’s offense looked to get going in the second half, it continued to shoot itself in the foot. A 38-yard gain by Moore ended with him being called for a facemask, taking 15 yards off of the play. Then, after a 23-yard gain by Geiger got the Bucs into Steelers territory, a third-down sack — again allowed by Goedeke — ended the drive.

A J.J. Russell interception of Tanner Morgan led to a Rodrigo Blankenship field goal early in the fourth quarter, and it wasn’t until a late John Wolford-led touchdown drive that there was any more changes in the score. Wolford capped off a 12-play, 95-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown pass to rookie tight end Payne Durham. That brought the score to 27-17 with 1:58 to go. And that’s where the scoreline stayed.

Player Stats

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

Baker Mayfield finished his evening with 63 yards and a touchdown on 8-of-9 passing, while Kyle Trask completed six of his 10 passes for 99 yards, though he was intercepted once and sacked three times. David Moore was the Bucs’ top receiver, catching three passes for 66 yards. Rookie Trey Palmer had four catches for 33 yards and a touchdown, and Kaylon Geiger caught four of his five targets for 50 yards.

John Wolford rounded out the quarterbacking for the night, completing 10 of his 17 passes for 112 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, Zyon McCollum and J.J. Russell came away with interceptions and Cam Gill totaled 1.5 sacks. Meanwhile, Will Gholston led the Bucs with five tackles. Markees Watts chipped in with a forced fumble, though it was recovered by Pittsburgh.

The big issue for the Bucs on Friday night was discipline, as the team totaled 12 penalties for 127 yards, seeing several big plays negated by flags.

After a couple of practices at the AdventHealth Training Center Sunday and Monday, the Bucs will then head to New Jersey for joint practices with the Jets. The two teams will finish their week with an exhibition matchup at MetLife Stadium, which is set for next Saturday (Aug. 19) at 7:30 p.m.