Mitch Trubisky replaced Kenny Pickett, who left with an injury, to throw a 6-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter and the slandered Pittsburgh Steelers defense applied itself in a surprising 20-18 victory over Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Steelers prevail over the Bucs
The Steelers (2-4) snapped a four-game losing streak by relying on a largely anonymous defense that lost nearly all of its starting secondary.
Brady struggled to take advantage behind an offensive line that struggled to protect him. The 45-year-old quarterback — who at one point criticized the offensive line for its poor performance against a team that had just three sacks in the last four games — completed 25 of 40 passes for 243 yards and an 11-yard touchdown to Leonard Fournette with 4:38 left to cut Pittsburgh’s lead to two.
Steelers linebacker Devin Bush prevented the two-point conversion and Pittsburgh ran out of the game clock by leaning on Trubisky to prevent its first 1-5 start to the season since 1988.
Trubisky, who had been benched as he was replaced by Pickett at halftime after the loss to the New York Jets on Oct. 2, threw for 144 yards and a touchdown to Chase Claypool. Trubisky connected with Claypool again for a 26-yard gain in the Steelers’ final series and then ran for a 9-yard gain that ended Tampa Bay’s chances.
Results Week 6
Washington 12-7 Bears
Ravens 20-24 Giants
Jaguars 27-34 Colts
Patriots 38-15 Browns
Bengals 30-26 Saints
Buccaneers 18-20 Steelers
49ers 14-28 Falcons
Jets 27-10 Packers
Vikings 24-16 Dolphins
