Tampa Bay Bucs vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: Complete Week 4 Preview for Tampa Bay

No team in the NFL has experienced the crash-and-burn of early expectations quite like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers so far this season.

A team that was thought by many—fans and experts alike—to contend for a wild-card spot has endured an embarrassing start to the 2014 season.  The Bucs opened with back-to-back home losses to teams who didn't have their starting quarterbacks before going on the road to be humiliated by the Atlanta Falcons in front of a national audience.

This week, the Bucs face another daunting road test, heading to Pittsburgh to face a Steelers team that just dominated the Carolina Panthers—a team that beat Tampa Bay in Week 1 without Cam Newton.

Despite an embarrassing loss to the Falcons last week, head coach Lovie Smith is confident the return of key players from injury will make a big difference this week, according to Roy Cummings of The Tampa Tribune:

"

Gerald (McCoy), Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Michael Johnson—all those guys will eventually help us. That’s why we’re optimistic things are going to change, because we don’t have those players out for the season. They’ll all be coming back, so reinforcements are on the way.

"

Will the return of those injured players give the Bucs the jolt they need to get their first win of the season?  Will Mike Glennon get his first start of the year at quarterback?  Will the absence of offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford continue to plague a sputtering offense?

Here's everything you need to know about the Bucs heading into this week's game.

Bucs Week 3 Recap

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The Bucs are well known for the futility of their early years, losing their first 26 games in the NFL and experiencing plenty of embarrassing moments.

But even though they weren't donning those "creamsicle" jerseys last Thursday night, Tampa Bay's awful performance in front of a national audience surely made many fans believe they'd gone back in time. 

The division-rival Atlanta Falcons drubbed the Bucs 56-14, leading 56-0 after three quarters and simply destroying Tampa Bay in every aspect of the game.  Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan set a franchise record for completion percentage, connecting on 21 of his 24 passes for nearly 300 yards and three touchdowns.

The Bucs gave up touchdowns in many different ways, including paying the ultimate price for punting the ball to Devin Hester, who set a new NFL record with his 20th career return touchdown.  Hester also scored on a 20-yard end-around earlier in the game.

Julio Jones torched Tampa Bay for 161 yards on nine catches, hauling in two scoring tosses. 

Josh McCown was incredibly ineffective and left the game with a sprained thumb on his throwing hand.  Bobby Rainey followed up a strong showing the week before against the St. Louis Rams with a disappointing performance, fumbling twice.

Tampa Bay didn't touch the scoreboard until the 8:46 mark of the fourth quarter, and the Falcons had almost as many touchdowns (eight) as the Bucs did first downs (10).

News and Notes

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Tedford Takes Leave

After missing the first three games of the season recovering from a heart procedure, the Bucs had hoped offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford would be close enough to full health to resume his play-calling duties.

Unfortunately, it looks like the opposite is true, as Tedford has taken an indefinite leave of absence from the team to focus on his health.  Per Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com, Smith wouldn't provide any details but said the team isn't planning to have him back any time soon:

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There’s nothing more I can tell you about the situation. He can’t go, there’s no need for me to get into any more details and we’re going on like Jeff won’t with us for the rest of the year. Going into something medically that I don’t know a lot about just wouldn’t be beneficial to anybody.

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Losing Tedford will be difficult enough on its own, but the play-calling duties now fall indefinitely to quarterbacks coach Marcus Arroyo, who has no such experience at the NFL level.  He'll have to learn quickly on the job if the Bucs hope to see their offense improve over their performance so far this season.

QB Controversy?

With McCown dealing with a thumb injury on his throwing hand that could keep him out of this week's game, many Bucs fans are hoping backup quarterback Glennon can help energize an offense that has left much to be desired so far this season.

Pat Yasinskas of ESPN.com thinks it might be time for the Bucs to turn to Glennon anyway, regardless of McCown's health:

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But, even if McCown's thumb is all right, it still might be time to turn to Glennon. Tampa Bay's offense has shown no consistency in the first three games and McCown has made some bad decisions.

Some things have to change and one of them might be the quarterback.

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It's hard to fault Tampa Bay fans for wanting a change at quarterback.  McCown was billed all offseason as a smart veteran who wouldn't lose games with bad decisions, but he's proven to be the exact opposite so far.  Once he's healthy, it will be interesting to see if the Bucs return to him as the starter or decide to move forward with Glennon.

So Much for Retirement

Thanks to multiple injuries at the linebacker position, the Steelers turned this week to a familiar face, convincing former star James Harrison to end his brief retirement and return to the team.

But despite their desperate need at the position, USA Today's Mike Foss questions the wisdom of the move, especially considering the off-field issues the NFL is currently dealing with:

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Why bring in an unproductive, aging player with a history of domestic violence in the current climate? What has changed in three weeks that would make anyone think Harrison is capable of a meaningful contribution on the field?

"

As Foss points out later in the article, it's understandable that Pittsburgh would be attracted to Harrison's familiarity with its scheme, but it's hard to believe there weren't better options—both on and off the field—than Harrison.

Injury Report

John Bazemore/Associated Press

Player	Position	Injury Status
Doug Martin	RB	Probable
Gerald McCoy	DT	Probable
Josh McCown	QB	Doubtful
Michael Johnson	DE	Questionable
Vincent Jackson	WR	Probable
Mason Foster	LB	Out
Austin Seferian-Jenkins	TE	Probable
William Gholston	DE	Probable
Larry English	DE	Out

*All injury statuses courtesy of Buccaneers.com.

Injuries continue to be one of the biggest issues facing the Bucs this season, but it looks like they could get some big names back in the lineup this week.

Both Martin (knee) and McCoy (hand) are listed as probable, and their presence would be a huge shot in the arm for Tampa Bay.  Bobby Rainey fumbled twice in last week's loss to the Atlanta Falcons, so Martin needs to re-establish himself as their bell-cow back this week.  McCoy is the motor that drives the Bucs' pass-rush, an area the team must excel in if they want any chance at beating the Steelers.

Jackson sustained a small fracture in his hand last week, but he's been a full participant in practice all week and should be good to go.  The same is true for Gholston, who has been dealing with a shoulder injury.

McCown hasn't practiced all week thanks to a severely sprained thumb on his throwing hand, and ESPN's Adam Schefter is now reporting McCown has a torn ligament and could require surgery, which would put him out "at least six weeks". It looks like Mike Glennon will get his first start of the season this week, and there's a decent chance he could start for the rest of the season.

Dane Fletcher should get his second straight start at middle linebacker, as Foster will miss another game due to his separated shoulder.  English didn't show up on the injury report until Thursday, but a hamstring injury will keep him out of action this week.

Johnson is still struggling to return from an ankle injury and while he's listed as questionable, Bucs fans shouldn't expect a high snap count from him, even if he's able to suit up.  Seferian-Jenkins has been dealing with an ankle injury of his own since Week 1, but he should finally see some action today.

X-Factor and Matchups to Watch

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Ben Roethlisberger vs. Bucs' secondary

The Bucs struggled against a backup and third-string quarterback in their first two games then got dressed down by Ryan last week.

This week, they face another top signal-caller in Roethlisberger, who has the weapons to give the Tampa Bay secondary yet another long, frustrating day.  If the Bucs can't generate a consistent pass rush, the defensive backs will have to step up and make plays on their own.

As the healthiest unit on the defense, the secondary simply has to come up big for Tampa Bay this week.

Clinton McDonald vs. David DeCastro

Even if McCoy isn't able to play this week due to his broken hand, fans should see a fantastic matchup in the trenches between McDonald and DeCastro.

McDonald will be relied on as a disruptive force in the middle, even more so if McCoy isn't able to play.  He'll face a tall task in DeCastro, a former first-rounder who has already established himself as one of the best guards in the AFC.

James Harrison vs. Bucs' OTs

Injuries have forced the Steelers to lure Harrison out of retirement, and he'll be expected to step right in and provide a strong presence as a pass-rusher. 

The Bucs offensive line showed a huge improvement between the first two weeks of the season but gave up three sacks last week to a Falcons team that hadn't managed a single one all year up to that point.  Anthony Collins and Demar Dotson will have to keep Harrison from bending the edge or collapsing the pocket, no matter who is taking the snaps for Tampa Bay.

Bucs X-Factor of the Week: QB Coach Marcus Arroyo

Arroyo has had the difficult task of taking up play-calling duties in the absence of Tedford, who has been recovering from a medical procedure.  With the news that Tedford will now be taking an indefinite leave of absence from the team, Arroyo will be handling those duties for the foreseeable future and possibly the rest of the season. 

The offense has looked unimpressive at best so far this season, and Arroyo must step up to the task if the Bucs want any chance of being competitive this year.  Now that Arroyo knows he's got the reins for quite a while, Tampa Bay will need him to settle into a groove and get the offense in gear.

Prediction

USA TODAY Sports

Pittsburgh is coming off an impressive win and will be back in its home stadium, while the Bucs are coming off the worst loss any team has endured so far this season.

Tampa Bay is still struggling with key injuries, though Pittsburgh has its share as well.  The problem for the Bucs, however, is that Pittsburgh is a much deeper team and is more capable of weathering the storm with its reserves.

If the Bucs have any hope of keeping this game competitive, they have to run the ball effectively, sustain long drives to keep Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh playmakers off the field and come up with some big takeaways on defense.  If all three of those things don't happen, the Bucs are looking at 0-4.

PREDICTION: Steelers 34, Bucs 13