The Tampa Bay Buccaneers Can Beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, If...

If you check around the league, they'll tell you that your Tampa Bay Buccaneers are taking a huge step up on Sunday.

The Bucs are taking on the "A" team. They're in with the big boys, the big dog, whatever it is you would like to call the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Yes, the Steelers have themselves a pretty solid defense. James Harrison—total beast. LaMarr Woodley—total beast. Troy Polamalu—incredible defensive playmaker.

Yes, the Buccaneer offense will have its hands full.

But, these Buccaneers can come away with a victory if the following can take place:

A:  Pittsburgh starting quarterback Charlie Batch goes five of 11 for 25 yards, just like he did last week against Tennessee.

B:  The Pittsburgh offense musters an earth-shattering seven—yes, seven—first downs like it did last week against Tennessee.

C:  The Pittsburgh offense churns out a whopping 127 total yards on offense, like it did last week against Tennessee.

D:  Pittsburgh running back Rashard Mendenhall chalks up 69 yards on 23 carries like he did last week against Tennessee.

Get the picture?

If the Pittsburgh offense lays a giant egg like it did against Tennessee last week, the Buccaneers could and should win this game.

The only reason the Steelers beat Tennessee is that the Titans turned the ball over not once, twice, or three times, but a whopping seven times. The only place you can find more turnovers than that is at your local bakery.

If the Buccaneers can take care of the football like they did at Carolina, no turnovers will give them a great shot to win.

Pittsburgh's only touchdown last week came on a kickoff return. Note to Rich Bisaccia: Shut down the Steeler special teams and that will give the Bucs an even better chance to win.

Charlie Batch will start at quarterback this week. Dennis Dixon is out for perhaps three to five weeks; he underwent surgery today to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. Backup Byron Leftwich, a short-timer with the Bucs, isn't so hot himself; he's recovering from a knee sprain.

The Buccaneer offense will have to find a way to score some points. Chris Johnson, arguably the league's best running back, managed only 34 yards on 16 carries for Tennessee last Sunday. Vince Young completed seven passes for 66 yards and was replaced by Kerry Collins, who completed 17 for 149 yards.

Any way you look at it, it will be tough for the Buccaneer offense.

But this is doable for the Bucs.

They'll need the defense to set them up with some field position, and it could come down to a field goal battle.

It wouldn't be the least bit surprising if this was one of those 12-9 games, would it?

But the Buccaneers can win.

If.