The Pittsburgh Steelers spent three quarters looking stuck in neutral, then ripped off one of the biggest fourth-quarter turnarounds in franchise history and walked out with a 26-19 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Down 16-3 with 15 minutes left, Pittsburgh flipped the game completely. The comeback was the Steelers’ largest in the fourth quarter since 1992, and it pushed them to 4-2 and their first winning streak of the season.
For much of the afternoon, the offense never found a rhythm. Pittsburgh managed just three points in the first half, piled up five three-and-outs, and went only 5-of-15 on third down while an attack that had scored 30 points in two of its previous three games went nowhere.
Then the fourth quarter arrived, and everything changed.
Aaron Rodgers and Germie Bernard started the rally with an eight-play drive that ended on a Darnell Washington touchdown. After Daylen Everette intercepted Jalon Daniels, the Steelers turned another eight-play march into points, though that series covered only 24 yards before Chris Boswell knocked through a field goal. Pittsburgh’s defense then forced a Buccaneers three-and-out, setting up Boswell for a 58-yard kick that tied the game.
The Steelers nearly stole it before regulation ended. Jamel Dean intercepted Daniels and got shoved out of bounds inside the five-yard line, but Pittsburgh couldn’t cash in from there.
Rodgers looked for Washington on one try, but the pass was broken up. A Jaylen Warren run was stuffed, then a jump ball to DK Metcalf fell incomplete, and Boswell came back out to hit his fourth field goal of the day.
That still left more than a minute for Tampa Bay, and Daniels did enough to put Chase McLaughlin in range for a fourth field goal of his own. That tied the game at 19 and forced overtime.
Pittsburgh didn’t waste the extra session. After losing the toss and getting the ball first, Rodgers led a 12-play drive that included a 3rd-and-13 completion to Metcalf, who finished with 11 catches. Bernard finished the march with his first career touchdown, putting the Steelers ahead 26-19.
The Buccaneers got one more shot and converted on fourth down once, but with 4th-and-8 staring them down, Patrick Graham sent a Jalen Ramsey nickel blitz. Ramsey came untouched off the edge and recorded his second sack of the game to close it out.
After failing to find the end zone through three quarters, the Steelers scored every time they had the ball in the fourth quarter and overtime, except for the kneel-down to end regulation. Rodgers finished 33-of-49 for 253 yards and two touchdowns, along with a first-quarter interception.
The receiver picture also got a lot clearer. Metcalf and Bernard each caught 11 passes, and the rest of the Steelers’ offense combined for 11 more.
Pittsburgh heads to Paris in Week 7 with its 4-2 record, where it will face the New Orleans Saints after their second win of the season over the New York Giants.
In Other News...
Aaron Rodgers Is Giving Steelers Fans A Real MVP Debate
Aaron Rodgers has given Steelers fans plenty to watch already, and now he has dragged himself into a familiar kind of conversation. The veteran quarterback, who has won the NFL MVP award four times and last took home the honor in 2021, is drawing fresh attention after a stretch that has reminded some observers of his best form. For a Pittsburgh team still measuring what Rodgers can mean in the bigger picture, any whisper of MVP talk is bound to travel fast.
Former defensive lineman Osi Umenyiora was among those willing to say the quiet part out loud, comparing Rodgers' current run to the kind of season that once carried him to the league's top individual prize. It is still just a prediction, of course, and plenty can change over a long season, but it speaks to how quickly Rodgers has shifted the conversation around the Steelers. When a quarterback with his rsum starts stacking up performances like this, the debate becomes less about nostalgia and more about whether he can keep it going long enough to make the idea real. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Get Another Big Test As AFC North Pressure Builds
A week after beating the Indianapolis Colts, the Steelers are headed back into the kind of game that can quickly tell you where a season is going. Pittsburgh is 3-2 and now gets the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, with the matchup airing on CBS and available through streaming, a timely checkpoint for a team trying to keep pace in a crowded AFC North.
The Buccaneers bring a different kind of pressure into the afternoon after picking up their first win of the season against the Dallas Cowboys, so this one has the feel of a measuring-stick game on both sides. Pittsburgh will be leaning on the same balance that has helped it stay afloat early, while Tampa Bay arrives with enough momentum to make this more than just another early October date on the calendar. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Get Needed Backfield Help Before A Bigger Offensive Question
Rico Dowdle is on track to give the Steelers a much-needed boost in the backfield in Week 6 after being sidelined since the toe injury he suffered in Week 2. In a season where the offense has had to juggle injuries at multiple spots, getting another running back back into the mix should at least help stabilize one area as Pittsburgh tries to keep things moving.
Mike McCarthy also made it clear the depth chart at running back is not shifting just because Dowdle is available again, with Jaylen Warren still holding the featured role. That leaves the Steelers in an interesting spot as they deal with injury issues at wide receiver and tight end, a situation that could push even more of the offense onto the backs and force the group to do a little of everything. [Read more 🡒]