Heading into the second week of the preseason and a long trip to Pittsburgh, Head Coach Todd Bowles wasn't even sure he would put Teddy Bridgewater into the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' second game of the preseason. By the time the game rolled around on Saturday night after his team had practiced twice in the Steel City, including one joint affair with the Steelers, Bridgewater was the Buccaneers' first quarterback on the field.
The initial plan was to give starter Baker Mayfield his first – and probably only – action of the preseason, but Mayfield's work in that joint practice on Thursday was extensive and impressive enough for Bowles to change his mind. Meanwhile, he saw enough from Bridgewater, who had only signed with the team 11 days earlier, to deem him ready for his first action as a Buccaneer. Thus, Bridgewater didn't know until Friday that he was going to be answering the opening bell.
In an effort to make his Buccaneers debut on short notice go smoothly, Bridgewater sat down with Offensive Coordinator Josh Grizzard for a couple planning sessions. He and Grizzard had previously worked together in Miami when Bridgewater spent one season with the Dolphins in 2022 while Grizzard was an offensive quality control coach.
"It started with Grizz," said Bridgewater. "We met last night and this morning, just talking about some of the plays that I was comfortable with, that I'd run when we were together in Miami or the past couple teams that I've been on. That was the focus, for me to just to be able to jot down a couple plays I was comfortable with, go out and execute, try to execute at a high level and just get the ball to the guys in order to make plays. We have so many playmakers in that locker room and you saw it tonight – get the ball to those guys in space and good things happen."
Good things did indeed happen, as Bridgewater handled the first three drives of the game and led the Buccaneers to touchdowns on two of them. He threw a total of 11 passes, completing six for 85 yards and those two scores while compiling a 119.3 passer rating. His scoring tosses to running back Bucky Irving and rookie wideout Emeka Egbuka were precision passes dropped into perfect spots against tight coverage.
"Just being here two weeks, I thought he did a hell of a job," said Head Coach Todd Bowles. "He made two great throws down there for the touchdown throws, moved in the pocket well, got out of trouble, kept us out of trouble, and kept the ball safe. He got one batted down, but for being here two weeks, it said a lot about him and how he operates and what he does. He had good command of the offense."