Steelers rally back from 13 down to beat Buccaneers in overtime

Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Oct 18, 2026

Published in Football

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TAMPA, Fla. — The Steelers overcame a 16-3 second-half deficit to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 26-19, in overtime Sunday at Raymond James Stadium.

Aaron Rodgers completed seven of eight passes and threw a 6-yard touchdown to rookie receiver Germie Bernard on the first possession of overtime to put the Steelers in front. They ended the game with a sack by defensive back Jalen Ramsey — one of five sacks they had on rookie Buccaneers Jalon Daniels.

After playing poorly for most of three quarters, the Steelers managed to rally back to tie the score in the fourth quarter. Then Jamel Dean’s 40-yard interception return against his former team set up Chris Boswell’s 20-yard field goal, which gave the Steelers a 19-16 lead with 1:21 remaining.

Buccaneers kicker Chase McLaughlin kicked a 53-yard field goal with eight seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime. But the Steelers won in OT thanks to a precision offense led by Rodgers.

The offense that had scored 88 points in the previous three games was non-existent in the first half. Their only production came in the final 1:28 when Rodgers drove them 43 yards in nine plays with no timeouts to get a 52-yard field goal from Boswell to make it 13-3.

Otherwise, the first half was a disjointed mix of short passes and failed third-down conversions. It even saw Rico Dowdle, who missed the previous three games, finish with more rushing yards (29) than Jaylen Warren (25).

It also featured another missed field goal by Boswell, his fourth already this year, from 48 yards.

It was a much different story in overtime, when Rodgers threw for 44 yards on the final drive, including passes of 13 and 14 yards to Bernard. Bernard’s touchdown helped the Steelers improve to 4-2 on the season.

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