Mike Glennon, benched by Lovie Smith, gives Smith his first Bucs win

An injury finally forced Tampa Bay coach Lovie Smith to give up on a pretty inexcusable mistake. And the quarterback Smith didn't want to start is one of the main reasons Smith got his first win as Buccaneers' coach.

Mike Glennon went into Pittsburgh and led a 27-24 victory over the Steelers, rallying the team with a last second drive that ended with Glennon hitting Vincent jackson for a toucdhown with seven seconds to go. Glennon, an all-rookie quarterback last year, showed that the experience that Smith so desperately needed at quarterback might be overrated.

A team that looked moribund with Josh McCown at quarterback for three weeks looked a lot more capable on Sunday with Glennon, who started because McCown is out with a thmb injury. Glennon, who had 302 yards, hit Louis Murphy for a 41-yard pass to Pittsburgh's 5-yard line. Jackson made a diving catch in the end zone for the winning score.

Glennon started that drive at Pittsburgh's 46-yard line with 33 seconds and no timeouts. He was poised on that drive, like he was the entire game.

Imagine what would have happened had Smith not made the wrong choice from the beginning, when he shoved the promising Glennon aside for the journeyman McCown. Maybe Tampa Bay would be better than 1-3 at this point. At least the Bucs finally had to reverse course and do the right thing, even if it was forced on them. Maybe Glennon even played well enough in the win that Smith won't mindlessly stick his veteran back in the starting job when he returns.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab

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