The Steelers hadn't come back from a fourth-quarter deficit of 13 points to win since the early 1990s prior to their rally on Sunday in Tampa, but quarterback Aaron Rodgers had.
That meant a lot to offensive coordinator Brian Angelichio and to the Steelers.
"He's been there, he's done it," Angelichio noted.
Rodgers authored three such rallies during his time with the Packers (twice in 2018 and once in 2022).
Now, he's done it again.
The Steelers' 26-19 overtime survival of the Buccaneers was their first such comeback victory since a 21-20 win at Houston on Nov. 1, 1992.
"(Rodgers) being the leader of our offense, you could feel that, his calmness," Angelichio continued. "He was in the moment.
"It's just that calming influence, like, 'Hey guys, one play at a time.' That was really good to see."
Rodgers led and the rest of the Steelers followed.
"Tremendous credit to the players," Angelichio added. "Things weren't going the way we wanted them to go early, but just staying consistent and the poise, and then there's players that stepped up and made some big-time plays. They were at their best when their best was required.
"It was really cool to see those things kinda take off and go in the fourth quarter and certainly in overtime."
WHATEVER IT TAKES: The dramatic turns of events as the Steelers climbed back from a 16-3, fourth-quarter deficit against the Buccaneers included Chris Boswell kicking a 58-yard field goal to tie the game at 16-16.
Twice.
Boswell's first attempt was good but didn't count because the snap didn't occur until just after the whistle for the two-minute warning.
Boswell's response was to wait out the necessary break and then make the kick again.
"That's a great illustration of Chris," special teams coordinator Danny Crossman said. "He doesn't ever let one thing affect the next. He doesn't let one kick affect the next kick. He does care tremendously but things like that, he doesn't care. He's like, 'OK, give me the next one, let's go.' That's just his mindset.
"What we were trying to get done and the movement of the ball and the missed spot aded a little bit to that. But that's the great thing about Chris, he doesn't blink. You put him out there and he's gonna put his best foot forward and, obviously, make something good happen."
JOB ONE: Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham has consistently emphasized his different-plans-for-different-opponents approach from week to week.
But any plan invariably includes stopping the run.
The Steelers did that again in Tampa. They held running back Bucky Irving to 46 yards on 19 carries for a season-low average of 2.4 yards per attempt. Irving had rushed for 165 yards and the Buccaneers had gained 241 yards on the ground overall in a 24-16 win on Oct. 8 in Dallas.
The Steelers have also held the Falcons' Bijan Robinson (83 yards) and the Colts' Jonathan Taylor (45 yards) under 100 yards on the ground this season.
The specifics of the plan each week may differ, but the overall concept is consistent.
"You have to funnel the ball back to the big men," Graham emphasized. "That's how you play run defense in the NFL, unless you're just truly selling out for the run game every single play. To me, that's not a good recipe because you expose your perimeter in the passing game.
"To me, it's all about how we funnel the ball back to the big men. That's been the focus, getting the ball back to the big guys. What's that mean? Good, firm edges from the outside 'backers, safeties, nickel, whoever's involved in that. Playing with good leverage on the second level. And then getting downhill and having some violence, and get it back to (defensive tackle) Cam (Heyward), get it back to 'Nu' (defensive tackle Keeanu Benton), get it back to the interior pieces.
"That's the most important thing to me in terms of NFL football, if you can funnel it back inside. If the ball's getting out to the perimeter into all the space in the running game, these guys have been carrying the ball since they were 8 years old. It's just not a good recipe for success."
