Steelers vs. Buccaneers 2018: Prediction, Betting Odds After Latest Antonio Brown, Le'Veon Bell News

When it comes to teams that were supposed to compete for the Super Bowl, the Pittsburgh Steelers (0-1-1) have gotten off to the worst start of any contender in the 2018 NFL season. In terms of exceeding expectations, no one has been a bigger surprise than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-0). It’s only fitting that the two teams will meet in Week 3, and they will conclude the upcoming schedule with a primetime matchup on “Monday Night Football.”

For the Steelers, their inability to win a game only tells half the story surrounding their slow start. Take away their record and you’ve still got Le’Veon Bell sitting at home and Antonio Brown failing to show up for meetings at the team’s facility a day after losing in Week 2. No one seems to know when Pittsburgh’s star running back will finally play, and the star wide receiver has already created news on multiple occasions for his behavior off the field.

Tampa Bay is dealing with their own negative headlines, but the team has actually thrived without Jameis Winston. Ryan Fitzpatrick hasn’t simply filled in admirably for the quarterback during his three-game suspension—the veteran has performed like the best player in the entire league.

Fitzpatrick had a nearly perfect passer rating on the road in the season opener when Tampa Bay put up 48 points against the New Orleans Saints. He had a second straight 400-yard, four-touchdown performance when the Buccaneers hosted the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2.

Will “FitzMagic” show up again in Week 3? It seemed impossible for it to happen again in Week 2. Why can’t the veteran have another MVP-level performance?

There have been times in the past when Fitzpatrick played like a legitimate top quarterback for a couple of weeks in a row. Never has he been this good, but the quarterback did have a triple-digit passer rating seven times as the Jets’ starter in 2015. Fitzpatrick started the 2014 season with the Texans by posting passer ratings of 109.3 and 129.1 in Week 1 and Week 2, respectively. He had a string of three straight games with a passer rating of over 109 and no interceptions during the middle of the 2013 season.

The Bucs have talented wide receivers in Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson, and second-year player Chris Godwin gives Tampa Bay plenty of depth at the position. They’ll be going up against a Pittsburgh defense that was torched for 42 points last week and doesn’t look like it’ll be as good as it was a season ago.

A big scoring day for Tampa Bay, however, won’t ensure them a victory. They’ll have to slow down what’s still one of the NFL’s best offenses, no matter what distractions might be going on in Pittsburgh.

The Steelers lost because of their defense in Week 2, scoring 37 points in the final three quarters against Kansas City. Brown caught nine passesn in each of his first two games. As long as he suits up, he’ll be the most dangerous player in Tampa Bay Monday night.

The Bucs are 30th in yards allowed per play, even though they played Nick Foles and a banged up Philadelphia offense in one of their two games. Tampa Bay allowed 40 points in the season opener to a New Orleans team that put up half that many points in Week 2.

It’s way too early to decide that Pittsburgh isn’t a legitimate title contender or that Fitzpatrick and Tampa Bay are for real. The point spread is down to a single point at various sportsbooks, according to the latest betting odds at OddsShark. Making this betting line Pittsburgh-1 would’ve seemed laughable a couple of weeks ago.

Nothing would be shocking at this point. Perhaps Bell’s absence and Brown’s behavior will throw the Steelers into disarray. Maybe Fitzpatrick will be this year’s version of Case Keenum and play like an elite quarterback throughout the whole season.

Both of those possibilities could happen. They just aren’t very likely.

The Steelers will score a ton of points against a defense that isn’t good, playing in a stadium where home-field advantage has been nonexistent for the last decade. The total should surpass the over/under of 53.5, and even the slightest regression from Fitzpatrick could be enough for Pittsburgh to secure their first victory of the year.

Prediction: Pittsburgh over Tampa Bay, 34-30