Bernard’s overtime touchdown finishes Steelers’ comeback from 13 down in Tampa

Germie Bernard reached the end zone with 3:15 left in overtime, and Jalen Ramsey made sure Pittsburgh’s comeback survived Tampa Bay’s answer. The Steelers beat the Buccaneers 26-19 on Sunday after entering the fourth quarter down 16-3.

Aaron Rodgers found Bernard for the six-yard touchdown at the end of a 12-play, 70-yard drive. Tampa Bay still had a possession under the overtime rules, but Ramsey sacked Jalon Daniels on fourth-and-8 to finish the game. Pittsburgh improved to 4-2; the Buccaneers fell to 1-5.

The winning catch completed an afternoon in which Bernard and DK Metcalf each caught 11 passes. Metcalf finished with 93 receiving yards and Bernard with 87, giving Rodgers two dependable targets while the offense spent much of regulation struggling to reach the end zone.

Two interceptions change the fourth quarter

Pittsburgh’s first touchdown came on Rodgers’ five-yard pass to Darnell Washington with 13:48 remaining. The score cut Tampa Bay’s lead to 16-10, and Pittsburgh’s defense supplied the next opportunity.

Rookie cornerback Daylen Everette intercepted Daniels, creating the possession that ended in Boswell’s 39-yard field goal. Boswell later tied it from 58 yards with 1:55 left. Former Buccaneer Jamel Dean then intercepted another pass and returned it 40 yards. Pittsburgh could not turn that short field into a touchdown, settling for Boswell’s 20-yard kick and a 19-16 lead with 1:21 remaining.

The Buccaneers were not finished. Daniels connected with Ted Hurst on gains of 22 and 13 yards, and Chase McLaughlin made a 53-yard field goal with eight seconds left to force overtime. Both kickers finished with four field goals.

Rodgers gets one more drive

Tampa Bay elected to kick after the overtime coin toss, according to the Steelers’ official account. Rodgers then guided the possession that consumed 6:45 and ended with Bernard stretching for the score. It gave Pittsburgh the touchdown it had been unable to find after Dean’s interception.

The ESPN box score lists Rodgers at 33 of 49 for 253 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Tampa Bay sacked him five times, but the Steelers answered with five sacks of their own. Ramsey and Nick Herbig each recorded two, and Yahya Black added one.

Daniels, starting in place of injured quarterback Baker Mayfield, finished 22 of 43 for 164 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. His two fourth-quarter turnovers helped erase a lead built around four McLaughlin field goals and a short touchdown pass to Emeka Egbuka.

Pittsburgh cornerback Brandin Echols left with a hamstring injury and did not return, the Associated Press reported. The Steelers now prepare to face New Orleans in Paris; Tampa Bay visits Carolina next Sunday.