For nearly three quarters on Sunday, the Steelers looked like a team that had left its offensive momentum back in Pittsburgh.\u00a0After putting together their most complete performance of the season against the Colts a week earlier, the Steelers struggled to move the football against Tampa Bay, committed an early turnover and couldn\u2019t find the end zone through the first three quarters.<\/p>\n
By the time the Buccaneers extended their lead to 16-3 midway through the third quarter, Pittsburgh appeared headed toward another frustrating afternoon.<\/p>\n
Instead, the Steelers found a way to turn things around, scoring 16 unanswered points in the fourth quarter before Aaron Rodgers<\/a> connected with Germie Bernard<\/a> for the go-ahead touchdown in overtime. Pittsburgh\u2019s defense then finished the job, securing a 26-19 victory that improved the Steelers to 4-2.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t particularly pretty, but there was plenty to take away from how Pittsburgh responded when things weren\u2019t going its way.<\/p>\n Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/p>\n The offense eventually found its footing<\/p>\n It\u2019s difficult to overlook just how ineffective Pittsburgh\u2019s offense was during the first three quarters. The Steelers managed only three points, struggled on third down and repeatedly found themselves behind the chains against a Tampa Bay defense that generated pressure throughout the afternoon.<\/p>\n Aaron Rodgers was intercepted on Pittsburgh\u2019s second possession, setting up the Buccaneers\u2019 first field goal. Later, a promising second-quarter drive ended when Chris Boswell<\/a> missed a 48-yard attempt. Pittsburgh didn\u2019t get on the scoreboard until Boswell connected from 52 yards as the first half expired.<\/p>\n The struggles continued after halftime, with the Steelers opening the third quarter with consecutive three-and-outs while Tampa Bay put together a 17-play drive that consumed more than nine minutes and extended its lead to 16-3.<\/p>\n However, Pittsburgh finally began moving the football late in the third quarter.<\/p>\n An eight-play, 68-yard possession carried into the fourth, where Rodgers found Darnell Washington<\/a> for a five-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to six points.\u00a0From there, the Steelers continued chipping away. Boswell connected on field goals of 39 and 58 yards to tie the game before his 20-yard kick gave Pittsburgh its first lead with 1:21 remaining.<\/p>\n That lead didn\u2019t last, but the offense saved its best possession for overtime. Rodgers directed a 12-play, 70-yard drive that consumed 6:45 and ended with Bernard\u2019s six-yard touchdown reception.<\/p>\n The final numbers weren\u2019t overwhelming. Pittsburgh finished with 300 total yards and converted only five of 15 third downs. Still, the offense demonstrated an ability to adjust and sustain drives when it mattered most.<\/p>\n Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/p>\n Germie Bernard answered the call<\/p>\n With Michael Pittman<\/a> Jr. on injured reserve and Roman Wilson<\/a> and Ben Skowronek<\/a> unavailable, Pittsburgh entered Sunday\u2019s matchup needing contributions from receivers who hadn\u2019t necessarily been expected to carry a significant portion of the offense.<\/p>\n Bernard stepped into that opportunity and delivered one of the most important performances of the afternoon.<\/p>\n The young receiver caught 11 passes for 87 yards and a touchdown, establishing himself as a dependable option for Rodgers against a defense that made life difficult for Pittsburgh\u2019s passing attack.<\/p>\n His production was particularly valuable during the first half, when the Steelers struggled to generate explosive plays. Bernard helped keep several possessions alive with short and intermediate receptions, giving Rodgers another option when Tampa Bay brought pressure.<\/p>\n Of course, the biggest moment came in overtime, when Bernard hauled in his first NFL touchdown to give Pittsburgh a seven-point advantage.<\/p>\n DK Metcalf also deserves credit for his contributions. Despite the attention he received from Tampa Bay\u2019s defense, Metcalf finished with 11 catches for 93 yards, providing several important receptions during Pittsburgh\u2019s comeback.<\/p>\n Between Bernard and Metcalf, the Steelers received 186 receiving yards and 22 receptions, accounting for most of Rodgers\u2019 passing production.<\/p>\n The defense kept Pittsburgh within striking distance<\/p>\n While the offense struggled through much of the afternoon, Pittsburgh\u2019s defense prevented Tampa Bay from putting the game completely out of reach.<\/p>\n The Buccaneers finished with only 224 total yards, including 122 net passing yards, and were limited to one touchdown. Pittsburgh also held Tampa Bay to six conversions on 19 third-down attempts, forcing the Buccaneers to settle for field goals on several possessions.<\/p>\n That was especially important during the third quarter, when Tampa Bay put together a 17-play, 70-yard drive that consumed 9:02. Despite moving deep into Pittsburgh territory, the Buccaneers managed only a 33-yard field goal.<\/p>\n Those four points left on the field became increasingly important as the Steelers mounted their comeback.\u00a0Pittsburgh also generated five sacks for 42 yards, with Nick Herbig<\/a> recording two and Jalen Ramsey<\/a> adding two more. Herbig\u2019s pressure helped disrupt Tampa Bay\u2019s passing game, while Ramsey contributed in several areas of the defense.<\/p>\n The Steelers\u2019 ability to contain Bucky Irving<\/a> was another significant development. Irving finished with 46 rushing yards on 19 attempts, averaging just 2.4 yards per carry.<\/p>\n There were still some problems, particularly when Daniels escaped the pocket, but Pittsburgh\u2019s defense largely accomplished what it needed to do against Tampa Bay\u2019s rushing attack.<\/p>\n Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/p>\n Fourth-quarter takeaways changed the game<\/p>\n The Steelers\u2019 defense didn\u2019t simply keep the score manageable. It also provided the offense with opportunities to complete the comeback.<\/p>\n Early in the fourth quarter, D\u2019Everett Everette intercepted Daniels at the Tampa Bay 45-yard line, giving Pittsburgh excellent field position while trailing 16-10. The Steelers converted that opportunity into a 39-yard Boswell field goal, cutting the deficit to three points.<\/p>\n Later, with the game tied at 16 and less than two minutes remaining, Jamel Dean<\/a> made an even bigger play.\u00a0Dean intercepted Daniels at the Buccaneers\u2019 43-yard line and returned the football 40 yards to the Tampa Bay 3. Pittsburgh couldn\u2019t punch the ball into the end zone, but Boswell\u2019s 20-yard field goal gave the Steelers their first lead of the afternoon.<\/p>\n Although Tampa Bay managed to tie the game and force overtime, those two interceptions were instrumental in changing the momentum.<\/p>\n For a Steelers defense that had been searching for more disruptive plays, the fourth quarter provided exactly what was needed.<\/p>\n Chris Boswell continues to be invaluable<\/p>\n There was a time when Boswell\u2019s missed 48-yard field goal in the second quarter looked like it might become one of the more frustrating moments of Pittsburgh\u2019s afternoon.<\/p>\n Instead, the veteran kicker bounced back and finished four-for-five on field goal attempts, connecting from 52, 39, 58 and 20 yards.<\/p>\n The 58-yarder was particularly important, tying the game at 16 with 1:55 remaining in regulation. Boswell then delivered from 20 yards following Dean\u2019s interception to give Pittsburgh the lead.<\/p>\n In total, Boswell accounted for 14 of the Steelers\u2019 26 points, including two extra points. He would also break the franchise\u2019s all-time field goals record, long held by Gary Anderson<\/a>, during the afteroon.<\/p>\n It\u2019s easy to take that level of reliability for granted, but Pittsburgh needed every one of those points to overcome its offensive struggles.<\/p>\n Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/p>\n There are still plenty of issues to clean up<\/p>\n Winning certainly makes the trip home more enjoyable, but the Steelers shouldn\u2019t ignore the problems that nearly cost them Sunday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n Rodgers was sacked five times for 42 yards, and Pittsburgh\u2019s offense struggled to protect him against Tampa Bay\u2019s pressure packages. The Steelers also converted only one of their first six third-down opportunities during the opening half, making it difficult to sustain possessions.<\/p>\n The running game wasn\u2019t particularly productive, either. Jaylen Warren<\/a> finished with 50 yards on 14 carries, while Rico Dowdle<\/a> added 40 yards on seven attempts. Pittsburgh totaled 89 rushing yards and averaged four yards per attempt.<\/p>\n There were also missed opportunities near the goal line. After Dean returned his interception to the Tampa Bay 3, the Steelers gained only two yards on three plays before settling for a field goal.<\/p>\n Those are the types of situations that can make the difference against stronger opponents, particularly when the offense isn\u2019t generating many explosive plays.<\/p>\n Final thoughts<\/p>\n There are easier ways to win a football game than falling behind by 13 points and needing overtime to finish the job. However, the Steelers demonstrated something important Sunday by refusing to let their early struggles determine the outcome.<\/p>\n The defense kept Tampa Bay from building an insurmountable lead, the offense adjusted as the game progressed, and several players stepped up when Pittsburgh needed them most.<\/p>\n Bernard\u2019s first NFL touchdown provided the finishing touch, but the comeback required contributions from throughout the roster.<\/p>\n The Steelers leave Tampa Bay at 4-2 with consecutive victories and plenty of reasons to feel encouraged. Now the challenge is finding a way to play with the same urgency and execution before falling into another double-digit deficit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For nearly three quarters on Sunday, the Steelers looked like a team that had left its offensive momentum…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1031778,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2055],"tags":[1586,6204,134148,457,2870,7,26718,1815,7343,1736,6,6313,520,57,2360,426],"class_list":["post-1031777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh-steelers","tag-aaron-rodgers","tag-chris-boswell","tag-deverett-everette","tag-darnell-washington","tag-dk-metcalf","tag-football","tag-germie-bernard","tag-jalen-ramsey","tag-jamel-dean","tag-jaylen-warren","tag-nfl","tag-nick-herbig","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-steelers","tag-pittsburghsteelers","tag-steelers"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/117467893193257798","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1031777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1031777"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1031777\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1031778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1031777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1031777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1031777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}