Video: The Bucs’ Final Two Touchdowns
September 25th, 2018
Pass-blocking hero
It wasn’t all stomach-churning last night.
The Buccaneers’ offense may be the best in team history and Dirk Koetter said after the game that he wants more attack from his wide receivers.
The Bucs got that in the second half, Koetter said. Two fourth-quarter touchdown throws came on Steelers blitzes with Ryan Fitzpatrick standing very strong in the pocket after a night that saw him take a lot of shots. Joe’s got the videos below, courtesy of the Buccaneers Twitter feed.
On the first, Fitz throws the perfect ball to Chris Godwin after Donovan Smith held his block just long enough. The Smith-Fitz bear hug afterwards is fun. Smith is not known for celebrations and extreme displays of emotion.
In the second, notice the great blitz pickup by Jacquizz Rodgers. Perfect. The dude is a few hairs short of 5-foot-6 and might be the toughest man inch-for-inch in the NFL.
Hey, these highlights are soothing some of Joe’s pain this morning.
Fitz to Godwin brings us within 10!#GoBucs | #PITvsTB https://t.co/tcXGqXxMyg
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) September 25, 2018
Mike with the HUGE TD catch! We're fighting back!#GoBucs | #PITvsTB https://t.co/nLTaH9Yse5
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) September 25, 2018
September 25th, 2018 at 8:38 am
Fire Mike Smith!!!!!!!!!
September 25th, 2018 at 8:39 am
Gosh the page is empty… not one bitter selfish post bitchin about how any particular part of the franchise is not personally pleasing your feelings
September 25th, 2018 at 8:40 am
So many chances and we blew it. Not fitz’s best game but played well under pressure. The TD drops, batted ball, and fumble were killers. A shame djax punt return was wasted. I felt like we were on our way to blowing them out and 3rd and long from their own goal line and their TE murdered Conte and they were alive. We need to run the ball better and no reaseon to call Quiz to run on 1st down.
September 25th, 2018 at 8:41 am
Mike Evans is the neo-Megatron. That is all.
September 25th, 2018 at 8:42 am
That pass to Mike was a thing of beauty. Nobody else had a chance at that ball and Mike came up big.
Go Bucs!!!
September 25th, 2018 at 8:43 am
The OL got owned last night and the WR missed as many TD’s as they caught.
I think the biggest difference is they came out slow, running the ball on purpose as oppossed to lighting them up like the last 2 games. The were comin up the gut somethin fierce!!!
September 25th, 2018 at 8:44 am
Hello yeah that’s my boy quizz. Proud of this guy. We went to high school together, dude was a beast. Ran me clean over on the practice field one day…. good times😅
September 25th, 2018 at 8:45 am
Again Buc fans Our Achilles heel bit us in the A… DEFENSE. We were manhandled by a bigger and stronger team. Our secondary kinda look like elementary kids going against Gladiators. They could not tackle anybody. Our Offense will always score. To be contenders you gotta stop somebody. Smitty should have been fired yesteryear! Yes we will win 8 games. But this Defense cannot get off the field folks. And Poor Conte went down in NFL HighLight History
getting trampled last night. It was Ugly indeed. Lets put the blame where it squarely belongs…. Yours Truly our DC….Pressbox Smitty!!
September 25th, 2018 at 8:48 am
meh I blame the OL and WR, who were supposed to have turned the corner.
we knew the D sucked.
September 25th, 2018 at 8:55 am
Quizz also whiffed on a couple of blocks last night. Other then some usefulness in pass pro, Quizz adds nothing to the running game. We need a running back who can run the ball, coach Rojo up, and get him on the field. If anyone will recall Koetter wasted Freeman’s rookie year because he didn’t trust him in pass pro. The Falcons couldn’t run the ball that year, and Koetter, Smith were fired. Freeman exploded as a pro bowl back the second Koetter left the building. History tends to have a way of repeating itself.
September 25th, 2018 at 8:55 am
Can we PLEASE be done with Conte? You will NEVER convince me there isn’t a practice squad player SOMEWHERE in the NFL that is better than he is.
September 25th, 2018 at 9:01 am
Re Conte: watched the game on TV and one of the ads they kept running was that of a Dback getting burned and falling face down on the turf. When he looks up, it’s Kenny Mane telling him, “that’s going to be on Sports Center!,” to which the player replies “NOOOOO.” Well, after Conte got planted by Pittsburg’s tight end, who took it 75 yards to the house, that commercial is still stuck in my head.
September 25th, 2018 at 9:03 am
Bucs Fan #7423 Says:
September 25th, 2018 at 8:38 am
Fire Mike Smith!!!!!!!!!
^^^Bench Grimes, he was murdered last night! Davis is the future and a much better option right now.
September 25th, 2018 at 9:08 am
yeah, grimes did suck out loud
September 25th, 2018 at 9:14 am
First half:Fitz struggled early, receivers kept slipping on wet grass. O-line couldn’t pick up the blitz. Defense again vulnerable to anything across the middle, Conte sucks.
Second half: O-line much better, Fitz starts to relax and sling it, Conte thankfully out of the game. Jacksons punt return for a TD gets called back. With over 3 minutes left and 2 time outs instead of trusting the hot hand of Fitzpatrick the coach decides to punt and leave it up to our defense and we lose!
Even though Fitz struggled he still gave us a chance but with one of the WORST running games in NFL history and a hopeless defense there is only so much one man can do.l
September 25th, 2018 at 9:17 am
Raheem Morris is a WR coach for the Falcons right now. Bring him back as Def coordinator next year.
September 25th, 2018 at 9:34 am
Get Mike Out Of Here!!!
September 25th, 2018 at 9:35 am
Fire Mike Smith Today Please!
September 25th, 2018 at 9:39 am
Everyone hating on the defense is Fitzpatrick shill. 3 rookies in the secondary shut out the Steelers in the second half, AB had no catches.
The only reason they put up 30 in the first half is because the offense gave them the ball 4 times, one on a patent #FitzSix.
Starting 2-0 and falling to 2-2 is typical Bucs and will have Koetter right back on the hot seat. Start Jameis Week 4. I don’t understand some of you (1/2 Joes) that have to wait until we lost the division lead before making the change. At that point it might be too late. Make the change early.
September 25th, 2018 at 9:43 am
Isaiah Johnson ruined DJax punt return td. It was obvious that he was holding the guy. Also why would Isaiah Johnson try to intercept or break up a pass that was well out of play out of the end zone almost in the fans section. This guy is a dud.
September 25th, 2018 at 9:53 am
@Greg – Hear hear. Rah got a raw deal IMHO, especially considering the faith they have shown in Mike Smith and Koetter by extension.
September 25th, 2018 at 10:00 am
Agreed 3 things ring true from last night… Fire conte today I do not know a less productive safety in the league…. He is constantly whiffing on tackles and cannot tackle worth AF. Next grimes got blew up time after time again time to bench him ( not sure why we didn’t attempt to get joe Haden last year). Next up the whole recycling strategy we have from the atl falcons does not work… Fire Smitty and if you really want all Tampa fans dreams come true fire Jason lite and if Koetter does not start fitz he deserves to get the axe to.
September 25th, 2018 at 10:07 am
Bucs Fan(?) #7423, Mike Johnson, DBS … REALLY? ‘Fire Mike Smith” … THAT’S your solution? You have ZERO CLUE what went on in that game last night. Pittsburgh is a monster team on BOTH sides of the football. OUR GIANTS? Vea? Nah. Allen? Nah, Unrein? Nah. Stevie T maybe? Nah. The only real Bucs’ DT in the game last night who started the season with us was GMC … and if you’d listened a little, you might’ve found out that he played with a screwed up arm (biceps). Our LBs played lights-out IMO, and the Secondary pretty much held their own after the 1st quarter or so. Brent Grimes shouldn’t have been in there IMO (he got beaten a couple of times when he normally wouldn’t have gotten beaten … doubt that hammy is REALLY totally healed up).
So that same Mike Smith … who you REAL (?) Bucs fans (?) want to fire … took a very badly depleted defense and held a very physical Steelers team to 23 points. That’s right, enough points to WIN if it hadn’t been for offensive miscues. Dirk Koetter preaches constantly that turnovers will kill you. Guess what … THEY DID.
September 25th, 2018 at 10:09 am
Folks! Time Out! When we were in the preseason and knew Jameis would be out for the first 3 games against 2 playoff teams and the SB champs, we were praying that Fitz could win just one of those. Now were sitting at 2-1 with a backup QB, and we damn near pulled another W out last night. Been saying it since Week 1 – Jameis will start Week 6 against Atlanta after the bye week. That gives him 2 weeks prep time. Even if we’re 2-2 at that point, we’re in a strong position to make a good run at the playoffs.
September 25th, 2018 at 10:37 am
That’s right DR. But then again your another know it all. And if YOU had listened you would have heard he said he was good to go. Which I will believe him over you. If Grimes is in there that is on Smith. I also watched a defense let their offense as usual drive down field in 1 minute or less to score. And as usual NOT be able to make a stop when needed. “a very physical Steelers team”. So why are the Bucs players not physical? Who is in charge of the defense? That’s what I thought.
September 25th, 2018 at 11:14 am
@greg… lol, hire rah. Theres a reason the skins and birds never promoted him past db coach and wr coach. Not sure why we went into the season withvthe db personel we did. Not great for sure
September 25th, 2018 at 11:26 am
I never thought they were out of it but the thing that upset me the most was the last buc possession with over 3 minutes to play and three straight pass plays? What the hell was the oc thinking for god sakes! It was as though the offense just fizzled on the biggest drive of the game.
September 25th, 2018 at 11:28 am
Defense did not play bad at all with the exception of Conte. Davis was playing press but Grimes off. Davis did better than Grimes in containing his man.
September 25th, 2018 at 12:02 pm
With this kind of West Coast, gunslinging Offense, I’d start Quizz. He’s a great 3rd down back and can run well between tackles, especially on draw plays. James White has this role with Pats. And many teams prior, used a back with Quizz qualities. The passing threat will set up the run. Koetter has to play the hand he has. Go Shotgun a lot and pass on 1st down. Then a couple of draws and screens to Quizz. Since he’s shown he can run for 100 yards, plus he can catch and block – why not just keep him out there. With more touches, he’ll at least get same yardage as Barber, plus block and catch.
September 25th, 2018 at 12:13 pm
rodgers also mixed a big blitz pick up in first half that resulted in a sack. overall very disappointing to see how much they struggled in pass pro and ability to diagnose blitzes . very concerning
September 25th, 2018 at 3:12 pm
Despite how much of a lame duck as I view Rodgers as I recognize that people really value him as a blocker, if that is the case then we need to bench Barber and start Rojo because our run game has been abysmal and at this point it can’t get much worse.
September 25th, 2018 at 5:34 pm
Start Rodgers. Give him the rock 15 times. Or 30, like they did 2 years ago on MNF against Carolina. Unless O-line just can’t run-block.
September 25th, 2018 at 5:37 pm
Can’t give a back the ball just a couple of times. Every runner needs to get into a rhythm. Like a shooter in basketball who needs shots. Barber has had his chances.