Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans catches a pass earlier this month at AdventHealth Training Center in Tampa. Evans repeatedly beat Steelers cornerback Jalen Ramsey for receptions during Thursday's joint practice in Pittsburgh.
PITTSBURGH — On the final play of a two-minute drive at the end of practice Thursday, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin called a timeout with 4 seconds remaining.
Just enough time to ice Baker Mayfield.
“I want to take a look at it, Bake!” Tomlin yelled to the Bucs quarterback from the Steelers sideline.
But there was no cooling off Mayfield’s connection with Mike Evans, who beat Steelers cornerback Jalen Ramsey for a touchdown on the next play. Earlier, Evans won against Ramsey on a two-point conversion pass.
In fact, the only person stopping Evans was Bucs coach Todd Bowles, who announced all his healthy starters will play in Saturday night’s preseason game against the Steelers except Evans and linebacker Lavonte David.
“He’ll be shut down after (Thursday), anyway, so yes, you read my mind,” Bowles said of Evans. “He’s definitely one of the veterans that wasn’t playing the game, so (Thursday) was his game.”
The Bucs had a good day against the Steelers defense and quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Mayfield fit the ball through tight windows over and over again to Evans, Jalen McMillan and rookie Emeka Egbuka.
Even without Chris Godwin, who still is recovering from a dislocated ankle and hasn’t practiced, the Bucs passing game appears to be in midseason form. Egbuka got separation on nearly every route and said he benefitted from working against Ramsey.
“I thought it was great,” Egbuka said of the two-minute drill. “I think J-Mac (McMillan) had a ton of big plays. I had one that was unfortunately called back (by penalty). But it’s football. It happens.
"But J-Mac really stepped up big. He had one down the left sideline for 15-20 yards and another one that was a little tip drill against Jalen Ramsey. It got us momentum. It got us in the red zone, and obviously we’re going to Mike in that situation.”
Bucs wide receiver Emeka Egbuka runs with the ball during a kickoff drill Monday in Tampa. Coach Todd Bowles was Bowles impressed by how Egbuka consistently shook free of Steelers cornerback Jalen Ramsey during Thursday's joint practice in Pittsburgh. [ JEFFEREE WOO | Times ]
While both Evans and McMillan had big days, Bowles again came away impressed by the way Egbuka consistently shook free of Ramsey with precise route-running.
“I think Emeka is going to play the same way no matter who he plays against,” Bowles said. “He’s that polished, and he wants to get better no matter who is out there. Obviously, they got some Pro Bowl corners over there. It was good work for us as well.”
Meanwhile, the Bucs defense did a good job of denying Rodgers during the Steelers’ turn at a two-minute drive. First, safety Tykee Smith had good coverage on receiver DK Metcalf. Then outside linebacker Haason Reddick nearly intercepted a Rodgers pass for former Bucs receiver Scotty Miller. On the final play, cornerback Jamel Dean dropped an interception.
“It teaches you discipline, because he’s a very good hard-count guy,” Bowles said of the Bucs’ work against the 41-year-old Rodgers. “He can see the field better than anybody, so if anybody is tipping the blitz or tipping the coverage in any way, he’s going to find it.”
Unfortunately, not everything went perfectly for the Bucs.
Linebacker JJ Roberts suffered what the team feared could be a significant knee injury during one of the last special teams periods. Roberts walked off under his own power, but the Bucs were not too optimistic.
“I know in the gunner drill I saw him run downfield and he was fine,” Bowles said. “I don’t know what happened at the top of the play, He’s going to get some X-rays and an MRI (Friday).”
Bucs quarterback Teddy Bridgewater throws a pass Monday in Tampa. Coach Todd Bowles said Bridgewater is expected to see some action in Saturday's preseason game against the Steelers. [ JEFFEREE WOO | Times ]
Bowles said quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who signed with the Bucs last week, is expected to play some in Saturday’s game.
“He’s very smart,” Bowles said. “He’s played the game a long time. He’s been in a lot of offenses, so he understands offensive schemes. The wording and the language may be different for him, but once he got that down after a few days we’d like to see him run the offense and we’d like to see him control the game.”
But the matchup that was worth at least one bag of popcorn Thursday was Evans vs. Ramsey.
“It’s two All-Pros,” Bowles said. “There’s two guys wanting to be the best and wanting to get better. Just as hungry as Jalen is, Mike is as well. So it was a good battle. It was a good, friendly competition. Obviously, you’ve got to see the tape. There were no winners, just good work.”
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