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Tampa Bay Had Pittsburgh Buried Until Aaron Rodgers Turned the Game Into a Nightmare

The Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2) erased a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-5) 26-19 in overtime at Raymond James Stadium on October 18, 2026, as Aaron Rodgers found rookie Germie Bernard for the winning touchdown after a dramatic late comeback.

Quarter-by-Quarter

Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 OT Final
PIT 0 3 0 16 7 26
TB 3 10 3 3 0 19

For three quarters, Pittsburgh looked completely lost in Tampa Bay. Aaron Rodgers threw a bizarre tipped interception to 320-pound defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson, Chris Boswell missed a field goal, and even head coach Mike McCarthy spent halftime receiving treatment for an ankle injury. Trailing 16-3 entering the fourth, the Steelers finally woke up. Rodgers found Darnell Washington for a touchdown, Daylen Everette intercepted Jalon Daniels, and Boswell connected from 39 and 58 yards to tie the game. Then former Buccaneer Jamel Dean returned to haunt his old team, intercepting Daniels and setting up Boswell’s go-ahead kick. Tampa Bay forced overtime, but Rodgers engineered a 70-yard drive that ended with rookie Germie Bernard’s six-yard touchdown. Rodgers finished with 253 passing yards and two scores, while DK Metcalf caught 11 passes for 93 yards and Bernard added 11 for 87.

Tampa Bay’s collapse was especially painful considering how well its defense played early. David Walker recorded two sacks, and rookie Josiah Trotter collected 12 tackles, but the Buccaneers couldn’t finish. With Baker Mayfield sidelined by a thumb injury, Daniels completed 22 of 43 passes for 164 yards, a touchdown and two costly interceptions. Emeka Egbuka caught seven passes for 48 yards and a score, while Bucky Irving managed just 46 rushing yards after producing 165 the previous week. Pittsburgh’s Jalen Ramsey and Nick Herbig each recorded two sacks, with Ramsey ending the game on fourth down in overtime. The Steelers overcame five sacks allowed and an ugly first half to secure their first road victory, while Tampa Bay fell to 1-5 after letting a 13-point fourth-quarter lead disappear.

Postgame Statistical Breakdown

Team Stats

Stat Pittsburgh Steelers Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Final Score 26 19
Total Offensive Yards 300 224
Passing Yards 211 122
Rushing Yards 89 102
Total Plays 76 73
Yards Per Play 3.9 3.1
First Downs 22 17
Third Downs 5-15 6-19
Third-Down % 33.3% 31.6%
Fourth Downs 0-1 1-2
Passing TDs 2 1
Rushing TDs 0 0
Total Offensive TDs 2 1
Turnovers 1 2
Interceptions Thrown 1 2
Fumbles Lost 0 0
Sacks Allowed 5 5
Penalties 5 4
Penalty Yards 62 38
Time of Possession 38:36 31:24

Passing

Pittsburgh Steelers

  1. Aaron Rodgers — 33/49, 67.3%, 253 YDS, 2 TD, 1 INT, 5.2 YPA, 5 SACK, 84.8 RTG

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  1. Jalon Daniels — 22/43, 51.2%, 164 YDS, 1 TD, 2 INT, 3.8 YPA, 5 SACK, 49.0 RTG

Rushing

Pittsburgh Steelers

  1. Jaylen Warren — 14 CAR, 50 YDS, 3.6 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 16
  2. Rico Dowdle — 7 CAR, 40 YDS, 5.7 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 15

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  1. Bucky Irving — 19 CAR, 46 YDS, 2.4 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 13
  2. Jalon Daniels — 4 CAR, 39 YDS, 9.8 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 17

Receiving

Pittsburgh Steelers

  1. DK Metcalf — 11 REC, 15 TGT, 93 YDS, 8.5 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 17
  2. Germie Bernard — 11 REC, 12 TGT, 87 YDS, 7.9 AVG, 1 TD, LONG 19
  3. Jaylen Warren — 2 REC, 4 TGT, 28 YDS, 14.0 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 16
  4. Darnell Washington — 4 REC, 6 TGT, 25 YDS, 6.3 AVG, 1 TD, LONG 9
  5. Pat Freiermuth — 2 REC, 3 TGT, 11 YDS, 5.5 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 7

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  1. Emeka Egbuka — 7 REC, 16 TGT, 48 YDS, 6.9 AVG, 1 TD, LONG 16
  2. Ted Hurst III — 3 REC, 6 TGT, 40 YDS, 13.3 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 22
  3. Chris Godwin Jr. — 4 REC, 8 TGT, 37 YDS, 9.3 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 13
  4. Bauer Sharp — 1 REC, 1 TGT, 21 YDS, 21.0 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 21
  5. Tez Johnson — 2 REC, 3 TGT, 7 YDS, 3.5 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 6

Scoring Plays

Qtr Clock Team Play Score
Q1 7:51 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Chase McLaughlin 43-yard field goal PIT 0, TB 3
Q2 14:52 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Emeka Egbuka 2-yard pass from Jalon Daniels (Chase McLaughlin kick) PIT 0, TB 10
Q2 4:08 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Chase McLaughlin 47-yard field goal PIT 0, TB 13
Q2 0:00 Pittsburgh Steelers Chris Boswell 52-yard field goal PIT 3, TB 13
Q3 5:02 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Chase McLaughlin 33-yard field goal PIT 3, TB 16
Q4 13:48 Pittsburgh Steelers Darnell Washington 5-yard pass from Aaron Rodgers (Chris Boswell kick) PIT 10, TB 16
Q4 8:08 Pittsburgh Steelers Chris Boswell 39-yard field goal PIT 13, TB 16
Q4 1:55 Pittsburgh Steelers Chris Boswell 58-yard field goal PIT 16, TB 16
Q4 1:21 Pittsburgh Steelers Chris Boswell 20-yard field goal PIT 19, TB 16
Q4 0:08 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Chase McLaughlin 53-yard field goal PIT 19, TB 19
OT 3:15 Pittsburgh Steelers Germie Bernard 6-yard pass from Aaron Rodgers (Chris Boswell kick) PIT 26, TB 19

Defense

Pittsburgh Steelers

  1. Jalen Ramsey — 10 TOT, 9 SOLO, 4 TFL, 2 SACK, 2 QBH
  2. Nick Herbig — 6 TOT, 6 SOLO, 3 TFL, 2 SACK, 2 QBH
  3. Jamel Dean — 4 TOT, 2 SOLO, 1 INT, 40 INT YDS, 6 PD
  4. Daylen Everette — 3 TOT, 2 SOLO, 1 INT, 1 PD
  5. Payton Wilson — 11 TOT, 7 SOLO
  6. Yahya Black — 2 TOT, 2 SOLO, 1 TFL, 1 SACK, 1 QBH
  7. Keeanu Benton — 3 TOT, 2 SOLO, 2 TFL, 1 PD
  8. Jaquan Brisker — 7 TOT, 4 SOLO, 1 QBH
  9. Cameron Heyward — 3 TOT, 1 SOLO, 2 QBH
  10. Jack Sawyer — 3 TOT, 1 SOLO, 1 TFL

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  1. David Walker — 7 TOT, 4 SOLO, 2 TFL, 2 SACK, 3 QBH
  2. Keionte Scott — 8 TOT, 4 SOLO, 1 TFL, 1 SACK, 1 QBH
  3. Josiah Trotter — 12 TOT, 5 SOLO, 1 PD
  4. Rueben Bain Jr. — 3 TOT, 1 SOLO, 1 TFL, 1 SACK, 1 QBH, 1 PD
  5. Zyon McCollum — 11 TOT, 7 SOLO, 1 PD
  6. Jacob Parrish — 6 TOT, 5 SOLO, 1 TFL, 2 PD
  7. A’Shawn Robinson — 3 TOT, 1 INT, 1 PD
  8. Al-Quadin Muhammad — 1 TOT, 1 SOLO, 1 TFL, 1 SACK, 1 QBH, 1 PD
  9. Tykee Smith — 10 TOT, 3 SOLO, 1 QBH
  10. Yaya Diaby — 4 TOT, 3 SOLO, 1 TFL, 2 QBH

Kick Returns

Pittsburgh Steelers

  1. Kaden Wetjen — 4 KR, 105 YDS, 26.3 AVG, LONG 29, 0 TD

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  1. Kameron Johnson — 2 KR, 64 YDS, 32.0 AVG, LONG 37, 0 TD

Punt Returns

Pittsburgh Steelers

  1. Kaden Wetjen — 2 PR, 0 YDS, 0.0 AVG, LONG 4, 0 TD

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  1. Tez Johnson — 2 PR, 13 YDS, 6.5 AVG, LONG 13, 0 TD
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