Mitchell Trubisky tossed a 6-yard touchdown pass to Chase Claypool early in the fourth quarter to lift the host Pittsburgh Steelers to a 20-18 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.
Trubisky relieved rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett, who sustained a concussion midway into the third quarter after he was hit in the chest by Buccaneers linebacker Devin White. The tackle caused Pickett’s head to bounce off the ground.
Trubisky completed 9 of 12 passes for 144 yards and Claypool had seven receptions for 96 yards. The two connected on a scoring strike with 9:55 left in the fourth quarter to help the Steelers (2-4) snap a four-game losing skid.
Tom Brady hooked up with Leonard Fournette on an 11-yard touchdown to bring Tampa Bay within two with 4:38 to play. Brady, however, was unable to connect with Chris Godwin on the ensuing conversion attempt.
Brady completed 25 of 40 passes for 243 yards and Godwin had six catches for 95 yards for the Buccaneers (3-3), who have lost three of their last four games.
Tampa Bay tight end Cameron Brate was placed on a stretcher and removed from the field following a 6-yard catch late in the third quarter. He was hit in the head on a tackle by Myles Jack, who promptly signaled for assistance from the medical staff for Brate.
Pickett completed all five of his pass attempts for 37 yards on the Steelers’ first possession, capping the possession with a 6-yard scoring strike to Najee Harris. The touchdown on an opening drive was Pittsburgh’s first since Week 10 against the Detroit Lions last season.
Ryan Succop trimmed the deficit with field goals of 30 and 27 yards, but Chris Boswell countered with a 55-yard field goal to give the Steelers a 10-6 lead. Boswell’s kick was aided by a fortunate bounce off the crossbar.
Succop responded with a 54-yard field goal just before halftime. The kickers then traded short field goals in the third quarter.
–Field Level Media