Steelers' Mike Tomlin Wastes Absolutely No Time Bashing Pittsburgh's Offensive Attack After Week 2 Preseason Loss

The Pittsburgh Steelers played a bit of a rough game as they lost at home to the Tampa Buccaneers by a score of 17-14 on a last-second field goal in the second preseason contest of 2025. The game went about as one would expect for a contest between third and fourth stringers. It ultimately came down to who made the last mistake, and it was Pittsburgh, when quarterback Logan Woodside threw an ugly interception, then the offense could not fall on the fumbled ball after the turnover occurred.

Even Head Coach Mike Tomlin was frustrated with his team's performance. He opened up his post-game press conference by bashing the offense for all the issues it had in that game.

"It was self-inflicted wounds for us tonight that determined the outcome of the game," Tomlin said. "You're going to turn the ball over, you're going to reduce your chances of winning. I thought we stalled a lot of drives offensively with penalties that put us behind the sticks and put us in less-than advantageous possession downs. I think we were 0-for-5 at the half as an example of that."

The offense had a rough day when it had a joint practice with the Buccaneers on Thursday as well. Clearly, whatever Tampa Bay knew about the Steelers on that day translated over to the game, even if neither team used the same concepts that they did in practice. Either way, Pittsburgh now knows that they still have a long way to go to be the unit that it thinks it can be for the 2025 season. 

All three quarterbacks that played in the contest threw an interception, with Woodside's being the one that cemented the Steelers' loss. Skylar Thompson's pick was not his fault though, as receiver Lance McCutcheon dropped a pass that went right into the hands of a defender. 

That play happened in the red zone, so that critical drop took at least three points away from the Steelers. Mason Rudolph's interception came on a deep pass where the cornerback had a great read on the play. 

On top of those three interceptions, Pittsburgh punted the ball away six times, which is never a good thing. That just shows how much the team struggled on third downs. The Steelers were two for 12 on third downs, as well as one of two on fourth. One of them lead to the return man making a mental error and trying to field a bouncing ball, and that led to a touchdown. 

The other scoring drive only took three plays, and a penalty helped bring the Steelers to the two-yard line. Utility man Max Hurleman dropped an easy touchdown before Brandon Johnson caught the ball for a score of his own. Hurleman had another drop later on as well. After a great showing in the first preseason game, he may have lost his chance to make it past roster cutdown day at the end of August. 

Steelers' Offense Had Its Struggled Against Buccaneers

There were a few other drops in the game by Steelers' receivers as well. All in all, it was a very ugly game, and the Steelers got some answers that they may not want to hear. However, there is a little bit of time for them to work out the kinks. The next game will be Thursday, August 21st in Charlotte to face off against the Carolina Panthers.

After that game, the Steelers will have 17 games of practice before they travel to New Jersey for their first real game of the season. However, many players won't have that long, as the team will start shedding players to get the roster down from 90 men to 53 men. Some should make the practice squad, but in the end, anyone who makes it to the team needs to step up soon, or it will be a long season.