The Pittsburgh Steelers narrowly escaped Tampa Bay with a win over the now 1-5 Buccaneers in Week 6... and they have Jamel Dean to thank for the road victory.
In a game that featured a humiliating Steelers offense and a handful of ugly performances, it was Dean—fresh off an ankle injury— who came up with the strongest performance of the game... and it just so happened to come against his former team.
Dean made things difficult for rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels, who struggled to connect with his receivers with any sort of consistency down the field.
However, the play of the game was Dean's clutch interception.
Tied 16-16 with under two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Dean picked off a pass from Daniels and returned it 40 yards the other way to give the Steelers a goal-to-go situation. Though Pittsburgh ultimately settled for a field goal and went into overtime, this play shifted the momentum in the Steelers' favor, and they would go on to win.
By the end of the game, Dean finished with four tackles, six passes defended, and an interception against his former team. His dominance in the secondary helped the Steelers secure the Week 6 road win.
Jamel Dean's best game with the Steelers couldn't have come at a better time
For the better part of three quarters, this looked like it had the makings of one of those classic road game duds against an uncommon opponent with a losing record. The Steelers are hardly an elite team, but they are certainly better than the 1-5 Buccaneers; yet, they nearly squandered a golden opportunity to gain ground against the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North.
Thank goodness for Dean.
The veteran cornerback's remarkable performance in coverage aided the Steelers in a fantastic defensive showing. Even with the extra period in overtime, Pittsburgh's defense held Daniels to a mere 164 yards on 43 pass attempts (3.8 yards per pass) while recording a pair of interceptions. This equated to a dismal 49.0 passer rating for the rookie quarterback, per ESPN stats.
Dean wasn't the only defender who showed up in this contest. Keeanu Benton exploded with a few big tackles for losses early in the game, while fellow defensive back Jalen Ramsey was all over the field.
Still, it was Dean's showing against this former team that deserves a game ball and the thanks of the fanbase.
Dean spent his first seven seasons in Tampa Bay as a starting cornerback for the Buccaneers before hitting free agency and signing with the Steelers during the 2026 offseason. While the Bucs have a solid cornerback tandem without Dean, they are probably wishing right now that they had kept him around.
When it comes to revenge games, this is about as much as you could possibly expect out of a cornerback... and thanks to Jamel Dean, the Steelers are 4-2 after Week 6.
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