Mike Glennon Proves He's the Buccaneers' Answer at Quarterback This Season

What a difference a week made for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And the biggest difference was Mike Glennon starting at quarterback.

The Buccaneers traveled to Pittsburgh and stunned the Steelers with a 27-24 comeback victory. Glennon was the primary catalyst for a revitalized offense. 

Through three weeks of play with veteran Josh McCown under center, the Buccaneers were the NFL's 30th-ranked offense and the league's worst passing team. 

Tampa Bay was forced to make a move when McCown tore a ligament in his thumb, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, during the team's embarrassing 56-14 loss on Thursday Night Football to the Atlanta Falcons. Buccaneers head coach Lovie Smith couldn't make any more excuses as to why Glennon wasn't starting. 

Schefter reported McCown will throw Monday to see if the injury will require surgery. Whether or not it does, Glennon remains the team's best option for the rest of the season. All the proof Smith needed was seen Sunday during Glennon's performance in Pittsburgh. 

The Buccaneers' passing offense was more effective than it has been all season. 

Opponent	Total Yards	Rushing Yards	Passing Yards
Panthers	264	102	162
Rams	332	157	175
Falcons	217	64	153
Steelers	350	63	287

But the move goes beyond statistics. 

Glennon displayed two qualities against the Steelers that clearly showed he's a superior option to McCown. 

It starts with Glennon's willingness to get the ball into the Buccaneers' offensive playmakers' hands. 

Gene Puskar/Associated Press

Tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins and wide receivers Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans are 6'5" across the board. All three present mismatches every single play. Glennon was far more willing to put the ball up and trust his receivers to come down with it than McCown showed through three weeks. 

The two rookies, Evans and Seferian-Jenkins, each had the best games of their career to date. Glennon targeted the duo 14 times. They combined for seven receptions for 109 yards and a touchdown. Jackson saw 10 targets, which resulted in 32 yards and the game-winning touchdown. 

Tampa Bay has legitimate targets throughout its offense. The quarterback simply needed to find them. And Glennon did Sunday.

The second-year signal-caller wasn't afraid to spread the ball around to seven different receivers. Veteran wideout Louis Murphy led the team with six catches for 99 yards, including a 41-yard connection that placed the Buccaneers on the 5-yard line with 35 seconds remaining in the game. 

Glennon also remained unflappable during the second half as the Buccaneers attempted the comeback. Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times provided Glennon's impressive second-half passing stat:

The young quarterback could have buried his head when he missed an open fourth-down pass to Jackson in the end zone with 1:49 left in the game, but he didn't. 

Instead, after the Buccaneers forced a three-and-out on the ensuing drive, Glennon stood tall in the pocket and led his team 46 yards for the game-winning score. 

The effort was the third fourth-quarter victory orchestrated by Glennon during his 14 career starts. The second-year quarterback has a 5-9 career record so far, while he's thrown 22 touchdowns compared to only 10 interceptions. ESPN's Louis Riddick shared his thoughts on Glennon as the starting quarterback:

It's important for the Buccaneers to find out exactly what they have in Glennon during the rest of the season. First, he gives his team the best chance at winning. And his performance during the next 12 games will determine whether he's the team's quarterback of the future or just this year. 

Sunday's performance was more than enough to warrant an extended look.

Brent Sobleski covers the NFC South for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.