The Pittsburgh Steelers were able to comeback and win a tough game over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 6 of the 2026 NFL season. The game was ugly for the Steelers for the most part as the offense and defense both struggled throughout the majority of the contest. Pittsburgh even had issues on special teams with Chris Boswell missing a field goal; and there were several penalties called on returns. It was an ugly showing from the team, but the group found a way to win in overtime after trailing 16-3 to begin the fourth quarter.
Kim Klement Neitzel / Imagn Images
Oct 18, 2026; Tampa, Florida, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Chris Boswell (9) looks on after kicking a field goal during the fourth quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium.
It looked like all was lost for the Steelers throughout most of the day in Tampa Bay, but things turned around in the fourth quarter. Pittsburgh scored a touchdown on the first drive of the final quarter of the game, and then Boswell was able to kick three field goals to take a three point lead near the end of regulation.
Tampa Bay was then able to move the ball down the field as time was ticking down to kick the game-tying field goal. It was fourth and two from Pittsburgh's 35-yard line, and Tampa Bay was out of timeouts. Mike McCarthy decided to call a timeout, but he waited until the clocked ticked all the way down till there was 13 seconds on the game clock.
The previous play concluded with over 30 seconds left on the clock, and had McCarthy called the timeout earlier the offense for Pittsburgh would have had a chance to get the ball into field goal range. Instead, the group had less then ten seconds and just took a knee to take the game to overtime. McCarthy was asked about this during his postgame press conference, and he explained what took so long for the timeout to be called.
"Yeah, there was some miscommunication there." McCarthy said. "We were thinking right away there, there was 34, 35 seconds. Just a miscommunication between the referee and I, so that's why it went down as low as it did. Ultimately it worked out."
McCarthy's answer doesn't really make sense. It wasn't like there was any controversy around the previous play and whether or not the clock would be running. It was a clear completion in bounds, and it was obvious the clock would continue to run. It is unclear where a miscommunication with a referee would have occurred.
Kim Klement Neitzel / Imagn Images
Oct 18, 2026; Tampa, Florida, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy looks on during the third quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium.
Since there was no controversy surrounding the play prior to the field goal attempt, the only explanation between the referee and McCarthy that would make sense is that the official was unsure if McCarthy wanted to call his timeout or not. If the coach made it clear that he wanted to and the official did it grant it initially, the clock would have been fixed to when the coach wanted the timeout called. It sounds like McCarthy just may have not been sure about what to do in the moment.
Steelers' Mike McCarthy Had A Rough Coaching Performance
The last stretch of this game was a tough showing for McCarthy. The game was tied and Jamel Dean picked the ball off and returned it within the five-yard line. Tampa Bay had two timeouts and there was 1:38 left on the clock.
The Steelers managed to take just 17 seconds off of the clock on the drive while only making the Buccaneers use a single timeout. The correct procedure would have been running the ball three times to take the clock down, maybe scoring a touchdown, and then kicking a field goal if a touchdown wasn't scored.
Another issue from McCarthy was not utilizing the reigning AFC Offensive Player Of The Week throughout the game. Jaylen Warren's opportunities were cut into by the return of Rico Dowdle, which certainly has fans unhappy.
What do you think about this explanation from McCarthy? Let me know on X, @brogannoey!
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