Banged up Steelers face serious challenge as Brady's Bucs roll into Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - "Oh no there ain't no rest for the wicked, until we close our eyes for good."
Those lyrics from Cage The Elephant and the popular Tomlinism "don't blink" are going to collide this afternoon at Acrisure Stadium.
While there is some hope on the offensive side of the ball for the Steelers with rookie Kenny Pickett making his first home start of his career, the hits just keep on coming on the defensive side of the ball.
Five starters will not play when Tampa Bay and Tom Brady take the field this afternoon: Cam Sutton, Ahkello Witherspoon, Levi Wallace, Minkah Fitzpatrick, and DeMarvin Leal all find themselves on the injury report listed as out.
Meanwhile, the reigning defensive player of the year TJ Watt remains out with a pectoral muscle injury and arthroscopic knee surgery.
To say it would be an uphill battle with arguably the greatest quarterback of all time coming to town is, well, obvious.
That said, the Buccaneers (3-2) are looking at the Steelers as a chance to get their offense back on track, averaging 337 yards per game, and 20 points per game so far this season.
At age 45, Tom Brady continues to chug along, throwing seven touchdowns and only one interception through five games.
However, he told the AP that despite the Steelers' struggles last week against Buffalo, he isn't overlooking them.
"They're going to challenge us," he said. "They're going to be sound. They're going to be in the right position, and they're going to make us earn it."
In his career against the Steelers, Brady has compiled a 12-3 record.
This will be Steelers' quarterback Kenny Pickett's first start at home and his first start against Brady, but don't expect Pickett to be overwhelmed by the moment, as he told reporters this week.
"He's an absolute legend," Pickett said. "No one can come up here and give a great speech that's going to turn this thing around. We've got to go produce on Sunday. There's nothing I'm going to tell you here that's going to fix it. We've got to go do it as players, as men."
Pickett could have an opening today as it isn't just the Steelers' defense that's hurt. The Bucs will be without safety Logan Ryan and cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting. A young offense finding its footing could use this as an opportunity to find a rhythm and build its confidence against one of the league's better teams.
Steelers once again find themselves as underdogs, this time at home.
Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. and the game can be seen on FOX.