5 Things to Watch: Steelers vs. Buccaneers.

The Pittsburgh Steelers look to end a four-game losing streak as Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers come to town.

With the Pittsburgh Steelers riding a four-game losing streak, there is a heightened sense of urgency as Mike Tomlin's streak of non-losing seasons is in serious jeopardy. 

The injury report is bleak with four members of the secondary already ruled out due to various injuries. The good news is that the Steelers will be at home and this has trap game written all over it as the Steelers are massive, near double-digit point underdogs. 

Here's what to watch in Week 6. 

Kenny Pickett's First Home Start

The Steelers put Pickett in a tough spot with his first start coming on the road, in Buffalo against a very stout Bills defense. The results weren't great but the experience gained will hopefully serve him well moving forward through his rookie campaign. 

Now back in a familiar spot, Pickett will get to be introduced as the Steelers starting quarterback on Sunday which is a moment that will melt every yinzers heart immediately. 

As for the level of competition, the Bucs defense is no slouch either, as they are allowing just 6.1 yards per attempt through the first five games. 

Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada devised a game plan to essentially shelter Pickett from mistakes against the Bills but there is a fine line between caution and conservative.  The sprint rollouts have become a heavily scrutinized part of his playbook and for good reason, but Canada needs to begin to show a little more faith in his rookie signal caller. The Steelers selected him in the first round for a reason and it's practically impossible to evaluate where he is in his development with the play-calling from last week. 

This is a game that the Steelers are expected to lose. They run little risk in letting Pickett sling it around the yard a little bit, playing to his strengths. 

Trouble In the Secondary

Ahkello Witherspoon, Cam Sutton, Levi Wallace and Minkah Fitzpatrick are all out in Week 6 due to injuries, which means 80% of their nickel secondary will be in sweatpants when this matchup kicks off. 

James Pierre, Josh Jackson and Tre Norwood will start this weekend and play significant roles in trying to slow down a dangerous Bucs passing attack led by one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever throw a football in Tom Brady. 

Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are difficult for any secondary to defend but this is a steep challenge for a relatively inexperienced group of players. 

Evans is coming into 2022 with a stunning streak of eight-straight seasons of over 1,00 yards receiving. Brady's had a lot of success targeting his 6'5 frame inside the red zone as the two hooked up for eight touchdown connections last season inside the 20. 

There is a glimmer of hope. Pierre did have a decent amount of competitive reps in coverage during training camp and this is a huge opportunity for him to contribute on defense and not just special teams. As for Josh Jackson, a former second-round pick, this could be a career-revitalizing moment if he's able to step up to the challenge and provide serviceable for Tomlin's defense this weekend.

Welcome Back (to 100%) Najee?

Najee Harris told the Pittsburgh media this week that he has been playing with a steel plate inside his cleat for the early portion of the season but that it's been removed as of a few days ago. 

As you recall, Harris missed over a month during the training camp due to a lisfranc injury which at least partially explains his slow start to his sophomore campaign. 

His play has drawn a bunch of criticism but now without the restrictive steel plate, Harris can get back to playing like he did during his rookie season. Tomlin has indicated that backup running back Jaylen Warren will continue to see playing time but this could actually benefit Harris in the long term so that he's not completely worn down by the time the winter hits.

In terms of Tampa Bay's defense, they are a high-quality unit but they have been a bit susceptible to giving up some yards on the ground this season. After leading the league in fewest rushing yards allowed in 2021, they're giving up nearly 116 yards per game this season which ranks in the middle of the pack. 

Teams not necessarily built to win via the ground game such as the Kansas City Chiefs have had success running the ball in recent weeks as they ran for 189 yards in a blowout victory two weeks ago. 

Being able to efficiently run the football against this front will take some pressure off of Kenny Pickett and could play a large role in pulling off the upset. 

Devin White's Impact

The 2019 NFL Draft seems like forever ago. It featured a pair of impact inside linebackers, both of which would be taken inside the top ten. Both linebackers will take the field on Sunday, although of different prospective career paths. Devin White's been an integral part of what Tampa Bay likes to do defensively as they extensively utilize him as a blitzer up the middle. 

After rushing the passer 135 times last season, he's already been called upon 33 times this season which has amounted to three sacks and 11 pressures. 

Under Todd Bowles, Tampa Bay will show a multitude of different looks up front designed to confuse offense lives. They'll mug the A gaps and brings fire x blitzes up the middle, creating chaos for quarterbacks dropping back to pass. 

Jaylen Warren has seen time as the Steelers third down back and showed himself well in pass protection thus far but this could be his toughest challenge yet. White's an insane athlete who's explosive when he gets moving, something that Tampa uses to their advantage frequently. Between Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris, they'll need to know where #45 is at all times and keep Kenny Pickett clean at all costs. 

Can Pittsburgh End Their First Quarter Touchdown Drought?

You have to think back all the way to Week 10 of last season to find the last time a Steelers offense scored a touchdown in the first quarter of a game. The slow starts are bizarre and difficult to encapsulate into one primary factor but the Steelers have made a bad habit of starting slow out of the gate which has become a massive problem. 

Acrisure Stadium will undoubtedly be buzzing with enthusiasm when the game kicks off, and Pittsburgh needs to come out and lay an early haymaker on this Bucs team that could be sleepwalking early on as heavy favorites. 

Another unique note is that the Bucs have also been prone to slow starts this season as they've yet to score a first quarter touchdown. 

To be fair, Tom Brady has been working with somewhat of a revolving door at receiver thanks to injuries all over the place but they've struggled to come out and put anyone away early. Even though this one looks like it shouldn't be remotely close on paper, there is enough evidence to suggest that this could be competitive longer than it probably should be. In what will likely be his last trip to Pittsburgh as a quarterback, it would be a nice parting gift for Mike Tomlin to send Tom Brady back to Tampa as a loser. 

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