Buccaneers beat Steelers 17-14 for second preseason win of 2025

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers once again showed out in preseason, defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers 17-14 and moving to 2-0.

The Buccaneers saw two touchdowns come during the first quarter, where quarterback Teddy Bridgewater threw two touchdowns to Bucky Irving and Emeka Egbuka, respectively, to score 14 of Tampa Bay's 17 points. Kicker Chase McLaughlin walked it off with a last-second kick, giving the Buccaneers another victory.

Buccaneers start out strong vs. Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Teddy Bridgewater scrambles with the ball against the Pittsburgh Steelers. | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Buccaneers' first drive stalled out immediately after a negative run from Bucky Irving and then a penalty on tackle Charlie Heck, so the Bucs punted, but they didn't lose the ball for long — cornerback Zyon McCollum picked off Mason Rudolph two plays later to get the ball back. Wideout Jalen McMillan got shaken up on a play during the ensuing drive, but the Bucs still got in the end zone when quarterback Teddy Bridgewater threw an end-zone fade to Irving to go up 7-0. The Bucs defense once again forced a punt from the Steelers on the next drive, and the offensive drive after saw Emeka Egbuka get his first NFL touchdown on a similar catch to Irving's at the other end of the end zone.

The Steelers got their lick back the drive after, though, with a deep shot to Roman Wilson and then some pass interference via Jamel Dean setting them up in the red zone. Dean also gave up the touchdown pass from Mason Rudolph to Brandon Johnson, and that two-yard TD made it 14-7 with the Buccaneers still in the lead. Kyle Trask and Tampa Bay's B-team came out after that drive, and they punted the ball back to the Steelers to finish out the first quarter.

Buccaneers and Steelers slow down in second quarter

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph scrambles away from Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Vita Vea. | Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

The Buccaneers halted the Steelers' efforts to begin the second quarter, but they weren't able to do anything on their ensuing drive, either, so they punted it back to the Steelers. Pittsburgh led a long, extended drive, but when they got into the red zone, Bucs cornerback Kindle Vildor picked off quarterback Skylar Thompson for the team's second pick of the day. The Bucs led a decent-length drive, but ended up having to punt it back to the Steelers, who got the ball with just under three minutes to play. They punted back to Tampa Bay, which allowed the Bucs one more two-minute drive. The Bucs weren't able to get anything done, though, so the half ended with the score remaining 14-7.

Steelers best Buccaneers in third quarter

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Trey Sermon scores a touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars | Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

The Steelers had the ball to start Q3, but they didn't do anything with it and punted it back to the Buccaneers. The Buccaneers punted it back to Pittsburgh in turn, but when Pittsburgh punted to the Bucs, returner Tez Johnson muffed the punt and turned the ball over right back to Pittsburgh. The Steelers capitalized, scoring their second touchdown of the night on a Trey Sermon rush to even the score at 14-14. The Bucs stalled out on their next drive, so they gave it back to the Steelers, and the Steelers held the ball until the third quarter ran out.

Buccaneers secure win against Steelers in fourth quarter

Tampa Bay Buccaneers place kicker Chase McLaughlin kicks a field goal out of the hold of punter Jack Browning. | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The Steelers gave the ball back to the Buccaneers, but the offense once again couldn't get anything going, so they gave it back to the Steelers. The Steelers led a long, extended drive, but they couldn't get any points when their field goal attempt went wide left. The Bucs got the ball back, and right when they started to hit a rhythm on the drive, tight end Tanner Taula fumbled after a catch to give the ball right back to Pittsburgh. The Steelers failed a fourth-down conversion, and the Buccaneers also failed a subsequent fourth-down conversion on their own drive, giving the ball back to Pittsburgh. The Bucs got another turnover on that drive, with linebacker Antonio Grier Jr. getting a pick — he fumbled the ball during the return, but thankfully, it went out of bounds.

This gave the Buccaneers an opportunity to seal the win with time running down, and they did just that. The Bucs offense ran out the clock and let kicker Chase McLaughlin do his thing, and his 42-yard field goal was enough to take the Bucs to victory.

Tampa Bay will head back home to play the Buffalo Bills — who it plays in the regular season as well — for its final preseason game before the regular season.

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