The Tampa Bay Buccaneers hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers on “Monday Night Football” in Week 3, but unfortunately for them FitzMagic failed to show up in time for a win.
The Steelers jumped out to a 30-10 halftime lead, and while the Bucs did make a game of it in the second half, it was too little, too late.
These are the biggest winners and losers from the action Monday night.
Winner: Big Ben was on fire
When Ben Roethlisberger threw an early interception, it seemed like he might be due for one of his famous road blowup games. Then he quickly turned things around and had a fabulous night shredding Tampa Bay’s squishy secondary.
Roethlisberger distributed the ball to seven different pass catchers, completing 30-of-38 passes for 353 yards with three touchdowns and the one interception.
The Steelers had absolutely no success on the ground until the end, gaining a grand total of three first downs rushing the ball. Without that balance, many quarterbacks would struggle. Instead, Big Ben put the offense on his shoulders and engineered a nearly unstoppable attack.
Loser: Where in the world was DeSean Jackson?
The first two weeks of the season saw DeSean Jackson turning back the clock in a big way. He entered Monday night’s game with nine receptions for 275 yards and three touchdowns.
That explosive element just wasn’t there on Monday night. Jackson was held without a catch in the first half, and he finished with just three receptions for 37 yards.
Needless to say, it was a very disappointing performance, both for the Bucs and for fantasy football owners who excitedly inserted Jackson into their starting lineups hoping for another monster game.
Winner: Jon Bostic had himself a NIGHT
By Jesse Reed
