{"id":309704,"date":"2026-10-19T08:00:29","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T08:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/309704\/"},"modified":"2026-10-19T08:00:29","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T08:00:29","slug":"9-winners-and-4-losers-from-steelers-comeback-victory-against-bucs-aaron-rodgers-and-the-offense-come-alive-in-tampa-bay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/309704\/","title":{"rendered":"9 winners and 4 losers from Steelers’ comeback victory against Bucs: Aaron Rodgers and the offense come alive in Tampa Bay"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\tHome<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\/<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNFL<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\/<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPittsburgh Steelers<\/a><\/p>\n

The Pittsburgh Steelers head to Paris in a 3-way tie atop the AFC North after surviving the Buccaneers in overtime. Plenty of players stepped up in the comeback, and a few others have real work to do.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Oct
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOct 18, 2026; Tampa, Florida, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) speaks with Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Josiah Trotter (45) during the third quarter at Raymond James Stadium.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

That was one of the wildest Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a> games in a while. Somehow, someway, the Steelers came out victorious against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/a>, pulling out an overtime win on the road in Tampa. Given the quality of the opponent, it never should have been that close. Even so, a win is a win, and Pittsburgh now heads to Paris at 4-2 in a 3-way tie atop the AFC North.<\/p>\n

As always, we\u2019ll start with the winners before getting to the losers from Sunday\u2019s game against Tampa Bay.<\/p>\n

Steelers winners vs. Bucs<\/p>\n

EDGE Nick Herbig<\/p>\n

Herbig signed his massive extension<\/a> in the offseason and had been relatively quiet since. Well, he wasn\u2019t quiet on Sunday. Herbig finished with two sacks, including a big one late in the game, and was phenomenal off the edge.<\/p>\n

DT Yahya Black <\/p>\n

Black recorded the first sack of his career and is doing his best work with Derrick Harmon on IR. He had a good game, and the Steelers need more of that from him.<\/p>\n

CB Daylen Everette<\/p>\n

Everette was getting picked on early, and we know that has been a trend for him. However, the rookie came up with a momentum-swinging interception in the fourth quarter and held his own down the back half of the game.<\/p>\n

QB Aaron Rodgers<\/p>\n

The offense looked completely inept early, and Rodgers got off to another slow start. Still, he never wavered. Rodgers brought the Steelers back to life in the second half and marched them down the field in overtime for the game-winning drive.<\/p>\n

Key Takeaways<\/p>\n

33\/49 passing<\/p>\n

253 passing yards<\/p>\n

2 passing TDs<\/p>\n

1 interception<\/p>\n

WR DK Metcalf<\/p>\n

Metcalf came alive with his best game yet as a Steeler, finishing with 11 catches for 93 receiving yards. This was the wide receiver Pittsburgh traded for and paid.<\/p>\n

K Chris Boswell<\/p>\n

Boswell missed a field goal inside of 50 yards early, and you had to wonder if it was going to be that kind of day. It wasn\u2019t. He drilled a huge 58-yard field goal to tie the game after the two-minute warning and hit the go-ahead kick later on. After that miss, Boswell was money.<\/p>\n

CB Jamel Dean<\/p>\n

This was a revenge game for Dean in his return to Tampa Bay<\/a>, and he took full advantage. He was sticky in coverage all day long, broke up multiple passes, and came away with the interception that set up Boswell\u2019s big kick.<\/p>\n

WR Germie Bernard<\/p>\n

The Steelers traded up in the NFL Draft back in April to get Bernard<\/a>, and he delivered when they needed him most. With no Roman Wilson, Ben Skowronek, or Michael Pittman Jr. available, the rookie out of Alabama stepped right in and caught 11 passes for 87 yards. He also scored a touchdown that would ultimately be the nail in the coffin for the Buccaneers.<\/p>\n

DB Jalen Ramsey<\/p>\n

Ramsey was the biggest winner of the day. He recorded multiple sacks, including the game-winner that sent the Steelers to Paris victorious, and racked up multiple tackles for loss. Ramsey was all over the field, and it was undoubtedly his best game in Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n

Steelers losers vs. Bucs<\/p>\n

LB Cole Holcomb<\/p>\n

Holcomb was flagged for a blindside block, his second personal foul for that kind of play<\/a>. If he does it again, he\u2019s going to be suspended one game. It\u2019s not a good look, and Holcomb wasn\u2019t great overall.<\/p>\n

R Kaden Wetjen<\/p>\n

Neither was Wetjen, who had a rough day returning. Every time he returns the ball, he gets hit and goes down. He doesn\u2019t make anybody miss, and he doesn\u2019t break tackles. Wetjen hasn\u2019t looked great so far as a fourth-round pick, though he\u2019s a rookie, and he deserves time. For a moment, it looked like Pittsburgh might replace him with Lew Nichols. Either way, Wetjen has to be better.<\/p>\n

Special Teams<\/p>\n

The same goes for the special teams unit as a whole. Danny Smith, the longtime Steelers special teams coordinator, was on the other sideline, and his unit outplayed Pittsburgh\u2019s. Special teams could have cost the Steelers this game. Whether it\u2019s the return game or tackling in coverage, the group needs to be much sharper.<\/p>\n

Pass Protection<\/p>\n

I charted five sacks allowed. Some of that was on tight ends Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington, and some of it was on the offensive tackles, including rookie Max Iheanachor. The line has to be more buttoned up because the Steelers can\u2019t have their 42-year-old quarterback, who is about to turn 43, getting beat up.<\/p>\n

Even with all of that, the Steelers escaped Tampa Bay with a win. Now, they head to Paris at 4-2 with a share of first place in the AFC North and plenty to clean up on special teams and up front.<\/p>\n

\"Play<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Nov\t\t<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh Steelers News<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tMike McCarthy confirms suspicion surrounding a pair of Steelers playmakers who suffered injuries against the Colts on Sunday\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

The Pittsburgh Steelers watched two wide receivers exit Sunday\u2019s game against the Indianapolis Colts early. Mike McCarthy delivered his update Monday, and an already thin position group now has a tough Tampa Bay defense waiting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Home \/ NFL \/ Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers head to Paris in a 3-way tie atop the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":309705,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[8177,8203,73,75,74,1833,22891],"class_list":["post-309704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-american-football","tag-mike-mccarthy","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news","tag-pittsburgh-steelers","tag-steelers-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=309704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309704\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/309705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=309704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=309704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=309704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}