The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a pivotal matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 6.
It’s a must-win game, as a victory will see the Bucs improve to 2-4 and gain ground in the NFC South race. But with a loss, a 1-5 start could be insurmountable, even in a weak division.
If the Bucs are going to upset the Steelers and win their second straight game, they’ll need three players in particular to thrive on Sunday.
3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers players who must show up against the Pittsburgh Steelers
LB Alex Anzalone
The Steelers boast a dynamic tight end duo in Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington.
Alex Anzalone will spend a lot of passing downs matched up against one of those weapons, and if the Steelers did their homework prepping for this game, they’ll be targeting Anzalone often.
Anzalone’s PFF coverage grade currently ranks 71st out of 72 qualifying linebackers this season. He’s improved overall from his dreadful first two games, but he’s still a weak link in coverage that could easily be exploited against Pittsburgh’s dominant tight ends.
He needs to play his best game of the season and avoid getting picked apart in coverage. If he proves to be a liability in coverage, a savvy veteran like Aaron Rodgers will target him again and again.
QB Jalon Daniels
What a moment it would be for the undrafted rookie to earn a head-to-head win over future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers.
Daniels needs a repeat of his strong performance against the Cowboys last week where he completed 19-of-25 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown. Most importantly he didn’t turn the ball over.
If Daniels could continue to serve as a point guard of sorts -- distributing the ball to his playmakers, taking what the defense gives him and avoiding turnovers, he’ll put the Buccaneers in great position to beat the Steelers.
RB Bucky Irving
Irving gave this offense a major spark last week and carried them to their first victory of the season. Can he do it again?
He’ll face a much bigger test this week after rushing for a career-high 165 yards against the Cowboys and their bottom-ranked rushing defense.
But even against a stout Steelers defense, the Buccaneers are counting for another big game from their running back so they can once again dominate the time of possession and simultaneously take pressure off both their defense and rookie quarterback.
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