The Buccaneers already have a problem with tight ends, and the Steelers bring two of them to Week 6.
That’s the part Todd Bowles has to solve before Aaron Rodgers and Pittsburgh get to Raymond James Stadium. Tampa Bay has spent the season doing a decent job against No. 1 wide receivers, but the tight end spot keeps sticking out as a soft landing area for opposing offenses. And with Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington on the other side, that weakness suddenly looks a lot more dangerous.
Through five weeks, the Buccaneers are giving up an average of four catches and 41 yards to opposing starting tight ends. Even that modest line comes with a caveat: Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson likely would have done more damage if not for several drops. So the numbers don’t exactly tell the full story, and they don’t make Tampa Bay look any sturdier at the position.
That matters because Pittsburgh doesn’t need to force the ball outside if the middle of the field is available. Tampa Bay has already shown it can limit top receivers, holding Ja’Marr Chase to 12 yards and CeeDee Lamb to nine. But every extra body sent toward DK Metcalf creates more room elsewhere, and that’s where the Steelers’ tight ends can punish a defense.
Freiermuth has been a steady feature in the Pittsburgh passing game all season. He has 27 targets through five games, which is second on the team, and he’s turning that work into about four catches for 34 yards per game.
The real damage has come near the goal line: he already has four touchdowns. He’s also rolling into this matchup off a five-catch, two-touchdown outing last weekend, which only sharpens the case for Pittsburgh to lean on him again.
Washington presents a different kind of headache. At 6-foot-7 and nearly 300 pounds, he’s built like an offensive tackle, but he’s catching the ball like a red-zone weapon.
He has 11 receptions for 131 yards and a touchdown this season, averaging two catches for 26 yards per game. The raw totals are modest, yet his 67-yard game against the Bengals in Week 3 showed what kind of damage he can do when a defense has trouble matching up inside.
That’s where Tampa Bay gets vulnerable again. Veteran linebacker Alex Anzalone has made real progress after rough showings in the first two weeks, but he still looms as a potential target for Rodgers. His PFF pass coverage grade ranks 71st out of 72 inside linebackers, and that kind of weakness is exactly the sort of thing an experienced quarterback can find and hammer.
The Buccaneers may try to hide that issue by shifting coverage help toward Pittsburgh’s tight ends, but they may not have their full toolbox available. Star safety Antoine Winfield Jr. is expected to miss the game with a fractured rib, which leaves Tampa Bay even thinner if it wants to get creative on the back end.
The Steelers also have a tendency to live in 12 personnel, lining up with two tight ends on 28% of their snaps, per Sharp Football Analysis. That ranks 12th in the NFL, and it would not be a surprise if they leaned on it even more here.
All of it points in the same direction: if Tampa Bay doesn’t find a way to clean up its tight end coverage, Pittsburgh has the personnel to make the middle of the field a long afternoon.
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