Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Germie Bernard (17) scores a touchdown as Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Zyon McCollum (27) attempts to tackle during overtime at an NFL football game in Tampa, Fla., Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026.
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Germie Bernard (17) scores a touchdown as Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Zyon McCollum (27) attempts to tackle during overtime at an NFL football game in Tampa, Fla., Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026.
TAMPA, Fla. — Post-Gazette reporter Ray Fittipaldo grades each position group and the coaching staff after the Steelers’ win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Quarterback
The first half was one of Aaron Rodgers’ worst of his Steelers career. He had just 78 passing yards and his longest completion went for only 14 yards. There wasn’t much hope after three quarters as the Steelers trailed 16-3.
But that was when Rodgers did his finest work. He was 17 for 22 for 153 yards and two touchdowns in the final quarter and overtime to help the Steelers win 26-19.
It was a gutsy effort, but it was almost ruined bad by a bad decision.
[Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Daylen Everette (23), left, celebrates after intercepting a pass during the second half of an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa, Fla., Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026.
Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Daylen Everette (23), left, celebrates after intercepting a pass during the second half of an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa, Fla., Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026.](https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2026/10/18/steelers-buccaneers-aaron-rodgers-germie-bernard/stories/202610180075)
Rodgers took a sack on third down from the Tampa Bay 31-yard line late in the fourth quarter. The 9-yard loss forced Chris Boswell to make a 58-yard field goal to tie the score at 16 with 1:55 remaining in the game. It was one of five sacks Rodgers took in the game.
Rodgers dropped back to pass 54 times. That’s probably not the formula the Steelers want to follow going forward, especially when they have two talented backs to carry a bigger load. But give Rodgers credit for getting the job done late.
Grade: B
Running backs
Jaylen Warren was not featured like he had been in the three games Rico Dowdle missed, but he still made some big plays to help the Steelers win.
Warren finished with 78 yards from scrimmage and had a 12-yard catch on the touchdown drive in overtime. Warren had 16 touches in the game while Dowdle had 10 for 49 yards.
There was nothing wrong with Dowdle’s performance, but the flow of the offense was different without Warren playing most of the game. Dowdle is going to have a role in the offense, but the Steelers have to figure out how he fits.
The bottom line moving forward: Warren needs more than 16 touches, and he needs to be much more involved than he was early in the game.
[Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy during the NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa, Fla., Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026.
Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy during the NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa, Fla., Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026.](https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2026/10/18/mike-mccarthy-steelers-buccaneers/stories/202610180078)
Grade: B
Receivers
Pressed into starting duties due to injuries, Germie Bernard made a critical rookie mistake early in the game. He redeemed himself by catching 11 passes for 87 yards and by scoring the winning touchdown in overtime.
He turned a first down into a turnover in the first quarter when he ran backward after catching a pass on fourth down. But Rodgers kept going back to him. Perhaps it was because he had no other choice, but Rodgers’ confidence in Bernard is growing. That’s a huge positive with Michael Pittman Jr. and Roman Wilson on IR.
DK Metcalf also had 11 catches and 93 yards. He had seven catches for 81 yards in the fourth quarter and overtime. What is it about Metcalf and the fourth quarter? He also had a big fourth quarter when the Steelers mounted a comeback, albeit in a losing effort, against the Cleveland Browns in Week 4.
It would be nice if Rodgers and he could make some plays earlier in games, but Metcalf stepping up in crunch time has been a nice development.
Grade: B+
Offensive line
The Buccaneers had six sacks in their first five games, but they sacked Rodgers five times.
Rookie Max Iheanachor had a rough day at the office. He was responsible for two of those.
The coaches are asking a lot of the linemen to pass protect 54 times in a game, especially against a good defense. The run blocking was a little better as the Steelers averaged 4.0 yards per rush.
The answer for the offensive line likely is more running attempts, but don’t hold your breath with Rodgers and Mike McCarthy calling the plays.
Grade: C
Defensive line
The Steelers did a good job limiting Bucky Irving, who had just 46 yards on 19 carries.
The biggest problem the defensive linemen had was containing Buccaneers rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels, who scrambled four times for 39 yards.
The interior pass rush is slowly coming around. Yahya Black picked up his first sack of the season while Keeanu Benton was active with three tackles, including two for loss.
Grade: B
Linebackers
The Steelers let Nick Herbig loose on the outside and he responded with his first two sacks of the season. The Steelers had often been using Herbig as an off-ball linebacker, and the adjustment on Sunday paid big dividends.
It was a quiet day for the other outside linebackers as T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Jack Sawyer combined for just five tackles among them.
Inside linebacker Payton Wilson continued his strong play. He was all over the field and led the Steelers with 11 tackles.
Grade: B
Secondary
Jamel Dean spent the first seven years of his career with the Buccaneers and his 40-yard interception return late in the game set up a field goal. Getting Dean back after he missed a game with an ankle injury was huge for the defense.
Daniels threw the ball 43 times and managed only 164 passing yards.
Rookie Daylen Everette also had a second-half interception that set up a field goal. He didn’t start, but the coaches rotated him into the game for Dean and Asante Samuel Jr.
The best defender on the field might have been Jalen Ramsey. He had 10 tackles and two sacks, including a takedown of Daniels on fourth down in overtime to win the game.
Grade: B+
Special teams
In the first half, Chris Boswell missed his fourth field goal of the season. He bounced back to make his next three, including the 58-yarder that tied the score with 1:55 to go. The Steelers made Boswell the NFL’s second-highest paid kicker earlier this year, and they need him to make the routine kicks, too.
The rest of the special teams continue to disappoint.
The kickoff coverage team allowed a return to the 37-yard line after one Boswell field goal gave the Steelers the lead. The defense stepped up with Dean’s interception, but better teams will take advantage of situations like that.
And it was the same old story for the kickoff return team. Kaden Wetjen had a 60-yard return nullified by a penalty. Actually, two penalties. Wetjen averaged 26 yards per return, with a long of 29.
Grade: C
Coaching
The Steelers won, but it’s hard to look past McCarthy’s game management late in the fourth quarter. It was disastrous. He almost single-handedly lost this game for the Steelers with his nonsensical play-calling late in the game.
After the Dean interception, the Steelers were at Tampa Bay’s 2-yard line. The Buccaneers had only two timeouts left. All the Steelers had to do was run the ball three times, force the Bucs to use their timeouts then kick the field goal. The clock would have been down to about 50 seconds if they did that.
Inexplicably, McCarthy called a passing play on first down and again on third down, leaving the Buccaneers with one timeout and 1:21 still on the clock. The Buccaneers drove down the field and kicked a field goal to send it to OT.
There were some questionable decision early in the game, too.
McCarthy came out with an aggressive mentality on offense when a more conservative game plan was needed against the NFL’s seventh-ranked defense.
The Steelers went for it on fourth down from the Tampa 43-yard line in the first half and handed the Buccaneers excellent field position. They capitalized with a touchdown to push their lead to 10-0. The Steelers made it easy for the Buccaneers’ coaches to put Daniels in advantageous situations early in the game.
The only thing that saved the coaches from an F was Patrick Graham’s second-half adjustments. The defense held the Bucs to two field goals after halftime.
Grade: D-
First Published: October 18, 2026, 4:17 p.m.