Steelers vs. Buccaneers Week 6: Aaron Rodgers Erases 13-Point Deficit as Pittsburgh Wins in Overtime

For three quarters on Sunday, Aaron Rodgers looked every bit of 42. He had thrown a first-quarter interception, the Tampa Bay pass rush kept arriving early, and the Pittsburgh Steelers had exactly three points to show for it. Then the fourth quarter started, and the four-time MVP flipped a switch nobody in Tampa realized was still wired.

Rodgers led four fourth-quarter scoring drives, Chris Boswell banged home a 58-yarder to tie it, and rookie Germie Bernard caught a 6-yard touchdown with 3:15 left in overtime as the Steelers stunned the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 26-19 at Raymond James Stadium. Pittsburgh (4-2) trailed 16-3 entering the final quarter, finally won a road game, and watched its quarterback pull even with Peyton Manning for third on the NFL's career touchdown pass list at 539.

Three Quarters of Nothing, Then Everything

The first half belonged to Tampa Bay and a quarterback nobody drafted. Jalon Daniels, making his third career start in place of the injured Baker Mayfield, hit Emeka Egbuka for a 2-yard score early in the second quarter, and Rodgers' pick to A'Shawn Robinson set up the first of Chase McLaughlin's four field goals. The Bucs led 13-3 at halftime, with Pittsburgh's only points coming on Boswell's 52-yarder at the gun after he had already yanked a 48-yard try wide left. At one point Daniels even caught his own pass for a 3-yard loss.

The Bucs then opened the third quarter with a 17-play, 70-yard march that devoured 9:02, stalled at the Pittsburgh 15 and produced a 33-yard field goal for a 16-3 lead. Pittsburgh's offense had the energy of a group chat where everyone leaves you on read.

Then it flipped. Rodgers opened the fourth with a 17-yard strike to DK Metcalf, a roughing-the-passer flag kept the drive breathing, and Darnell Washington caught a 5-yard touchdown. Three plays into Tampa Bay's next drive, Daylen Everette picked off Daniels, his first interception as a pro, and Boswell cashed it in from 39 yards. With 1:55 left, Boswell drilled the 58-yarder to tie it, a kick he technically made twice because the first one was wiped out by the two-minute warning.

Tampa Bay's next possession lasted two snaps. On the second, Jamel Dean picked off a throw intended for Egbuka and returned it 40 yards to the Tampa Bay 3. Boswell's 20-yarder made it 19-16 with 1:21 to go. Daniels refused to fold: completions of 22 and 13 yards to fellow rookie Ted Hurst III set up McLaughlin, who is 14 of 14 this season, for a 53-yarder with eight seconds left. Overtime.

Rodgers, Metcalf and a Rookie Who Wouldn't Blink

Rodgers finished 33 of 49 for 253 yards with two touchdowns, and the stat line undersells how different he looked once the ball started finding his best receiver. Metcalf caught 11 passes for 93 yards on 15 targets, a week after a season-low four targets. According to the Steelers, nine of those catches and 81 of those yards came after halftime.

"Once we got DK involved, the offense shifted," Rodgers said. "Maybe we can get that going a little earlier next time."

Bernard, carrying a bigger load with receivers Michael Pittman Jr. and Roman Wilson injured, matched Metcalf with 11 catches for 87 yards and the winning score on 12 targets.

"Yeah, I just love everything he's doing," coach Mike McCarthy said of Bernard. "I mean he's accepted the challenge."

On defense, Jalen Ramsey was everywhere: 10 tackles, four for loss and two sacks. Per the Steelers, he became the first defensive back to post at least 10 tackles, at least four tackles for loss and two sacks in a game dating back to 2000. Nick Herbig added two sacks, and Dean, facing his former team, finished with six passes defensed to go with the pick.

Daniels went 22 of 43 for 164 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions while absorbing five sacks, and he still had the Bucs in position to win late.

The Pick, the March and the Sack

If you want one swing, it's Dean's interception. Tampa Bay had just watched a 13-point cushion melt into a 16-16 tie, and Dean's return handed Pittsburgh a 3-yard field and the lead.

The real heist came in overtime. Pittsburgh received the kickoff and went 70 yards in 12 plays, chewing 6:45 with a mix of Jaylen Warren runs and Metcalf catches before Rodgers found Bernard in the end zone. Tampa Bay crawled to the Pittsburgh 48 on its answer possession, and then Ramsey came free on fourth down and dropped Daniels for an 11-yard loss to end it.

"Obviously, the sack at the end of the game was exactly how you draw it up as far as the technique," McCarthy said.

The Math on a Wild Afternoon in Tampa

• 539: Rodgers' career touchdown passes, tied with Manning for third all time. Only Tom Brady (649) and Drew Brees (571) have more.
• 38:36: Pittsburgh's time of possession, a slow squeeze that kept Tampa Bay's offense parked on the sideline.
• 5 and 5: Sacks by each defense, for 42 yards apiece.
• 5: Tampa Bay losses this season, every one by seven points or fewer.

Paris Looks a Lot Better at 4-2

Pittsburgh began the day unbeaten at home and winless on the road. Now the Steelers are 4-2 and, per the team's own site, tied with Cleveland and Baltimore atop the AFC North heading into Paris to face the New Orleans Saints in the first NFL regular-season game in France.

"You can go to 3-3 and then you've got a Paris trip ... and that's just not what you want to do, obviously," Rodgers said.

Tampa Bay, now 1-5 and 0-4 at home, keeps running the same maddening script: hang around, then find a way to lose. The Bucs had looked sharper after an 0-4 start, winning at Dallas the week before, and still let a 13-point fourth-quarter lead slip away.

"We feel like we gave that one to them," Egbuka said.

"We've got to be able to finish games," Bucs coach Todd Bowles said. That's the whole season in one sentence. Next up is a trip to NFC South rival Carolina.

A Trajectory Win, Coached From a Tent

The most Steelers detail of the afternoon? McCarthy spent all of halftime in the injury tent after getting stepped on along the sideline, then returned for the third quarter and coached the comeback.

"I got my foot stepped on," McCarthy said. "We've got a really good medical staff, so I just communicated from the tent to the locker room."

Rodgers called it "a trajectory win." Fair enough, but a 42-year-old quarterback erasing a 16-3 deficit while his coach runs halftime from a medical tent is less trajectory and more Hollywood sequel. Next stop, Paris.

Stats from the official box score and play-by-play via ESPN. Postgame quotes as reported by the Associated Press and Steelers.com.