In Week Six, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will try to turn their first win of the 2026 season into the start of the streak and get their first victory at home against the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers, who are off to a 3-2 start in a very competitive AFC North. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, with CBS handling the local broadcast.

The 1-4 Buccaneers will seek to get some season momentum going after their rousing prime-time win in Dallas on Thursday night. Rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels, who got his first NFL win in his second career start in Week Five, is expected to start for a third straight week though Baker Mayfield is battling hard to return as soon as possible from his right thumb injury. The Bucs definitely found some much-needed offensive momentum in Dallas, racking up 419 yards with a formula of a heavy dose of the ground game (241 yards) and mistake-free passing from Daniels. Tampa Bay's defense was already showing signs of being one of the better units in the league before going into Dallas and holding a Cowboys team that had been averaging 30.5 points per game to just 16. Though the pass rush is still trying to get on track – no sacks in the past two games combined – the Bucs did generate a season-high three takeaways against the Cowboys (more on that below).

The 3-2 Steelers have alternated wins and losses through the first five weeks, most recently pulling away from the Colts in the second half in Week Five to secure a 34-22 win. Aaron Rodgers, playing in his age 42 season, hit the Colts with a trio of touchdown passes and became the first Steelers quarterback since Terry Bradshaw to record three straight games in which he threw three touchdown passes. As Bucky Irving did for Daniels in Dallas, Jaylen Warren supported Rodgers with an explosive performance, recording 188 yards from scrimmage, which included an 80-yard touchdown catch and a 50-yard touchdown run. The Steelers' defense continues to be strong up front with edge rushers T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith combining for 7.5 sacks, and Watt also has one of the team's four interceptions, which he returned for a touchdown. The Steelers are looking to keep pace in the NFC North, in which all four teams are at least 3-2 and the Ravens are in the lead at 4-1.

Here are four major storylines as well as four head-to-head player battles to keep an eye on as the Bucs and Steelers go head to head on Sunday afternoon:

TOP STORYLINES

One More Start for Daniels – Mayfield's injury was a dislocation of the thumb on his throwing hand, which happened near the very end of the Bucs' Week Three loss to Minnesota. The following day, Head Coach Todd Bowles said the gritty quarterback would probably miss "a minimum of three weeks," which would have sidelined him against the Packers, Cowboys and Steelers. He has now missed two games, and while reports have suggested that Mayfield is trying very hard to shorten that initial timeline, Bowles said last Friday that, "Right now, we plan on starting Jalon against the Steelers." Daniels has started the last two games and showed significant improvement from the first one to the second one, completing 19 of 25 passes for 189 yards a touchdown and, most importantly, no interceptions in Dallas. Given his pedigree as an undrafted rookie – the first one ever to start a game at quarterback for the Buccaneers – Daniels has been impressive, but no matter how well he plays the Buccaneers are sure to go back to Mayfield when he is healthy enough to play. It's a possibility that Mayfield will sit out one more game, as originally planned, then return to action in Week Seven at Carolina for a critical game against a division rival. If that's the eventual outcome, that means Daniels has one more opportunity on Sunday against Pittsburgh to go wire to wire and show off what he can do with his strong right arm, his excellent mobility and his surprising poise for such an inexperienced player. The Buccaneers are excited about his future and are seeing signs that it is a bright one.

One More Game Against Rodgers – In the meantime, the Buccaneers will face Aaron Rodgers for what is almost certainly the last time, as the Hall of Fame-bound passer has declared that this will be his 18th and final season. Rodgers has certainly demonstrated that he still has the talent, pinpoint precision and cerebral command that have made him one of the NFL's all-time leaders in virtually every passing category, this season, throwing for 1,234 yards, 10 touchdowns and four interceptions. For the Buccaneers, Sunday's game is an opportunity to conclude their all-time rivalry with Rodgers with a winning record, something only currently five teams can claim (Buffalo, Green Bay, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and Washington). That ledger currently stands at 3-3, with the Bucs getting the upper hand in games played in 2008, 2009 and 2020, all during Rodgers' tenure in Green Bay, and Rodgers winning in contests staged in 2011, 2014 and 2022. This is the first time that Tampa Bay will face Rodgers in a game since he left Green Bay in 2023, first spending two seasons with the Jets and now two in Pittsburgh. If postseason games are included, then the Buccaneers are trying to protect a head-to-head lead against Rodgers, as the Buccaneers also won in Green Bay in the 2020 NFC Championship Game to punch their ticket to Super Bowl LV.

Whose Defense is For Real? – The Buccaneers and Steelers are both known for having long stretches of defensive dominance during their best eras, and both have produced multiple Hall of Famers on that side of the ball. Defense is in their DNA for both franchises and both are getting strong performances on that side of the ball again in 2026. The Buccaneers have quietly landed in the NFL's top 10 in a wide variety of categories, including net yards allowed, rushing yards allowed, interceptions, first downs allowed and third-down success rate allowed. After giving up 33 points in the season opener in Cincinnati (with seven of those coming on a Bengals defensive score), they have gradually reduced that to 23, 23, 17 and 16 in the last four games. The Buccaneers' efforts have been led by a secondary that is clamping down on some of the NFL's top wideouts, such as Ja'Marr Chase, Christian Watson and, most recently, CeeDee Lamb. They have done so without the complementary help of a robust pass rush, as the Bucs have produced only six sacks through five games. The emergence of a more effective pass rush could solidify Tampa Bay's spot in the top 10 of the defensive ratings. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh's pass rush has been the best aspect of its defensive performance, which is not surprising for a team that employs T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig. Watt and Highsmith alone have produced 7.5 sacks, 1.5 more than the Buccaneers as a team. Pittsburgh's defensive ranking in such categories as yards, rushing yards, passing yards and yards allowed per play are more middle of the pack so far, but it is Pittsburgh, not Tampa Bay that ranks in the top 10 in the most important category: points allowed. Which proud defensive organization will have the stronger game on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium?

Turnovers – Do They Really Come in Bunches? – Todd Bowles has often employed the expression that "turnovers come in bunches in the NFL," with his experience telling him that his team will sometimes force a lot of them in a certain stretches of games and sometimes go through droughts where they seem impossible to come by. Bowles' defenses have generally beenquite good at producing takeaways and the offensive havoc they cause; from 2019, when he first arrived as Tampa Bay's defensive coordinator, through last season, the Buccaneers ranked seventh in the league in takeaways. And that production was definitely streaky. Last year, for instance, the Bucs only had two takeaways through the first four games of the season but then racked up 14 over their next six outings. Bowles' crew would like to see a similar trend this year, as they created just two takeaways through their first three games and three quarters but have since racked up five in their last five quarters of play. Last Thursday in Dallas marked the first game this season in which Tampa Bay scored more points off takeaways than they allowed. It was also the first game of the season without a turnover by the Bucs' offense. Will the Bucs get takeaways in bunches in the coming weeks as they try to turn their season around, and can their offense conversely put opposing defenses into a turnover drought?

KEY MATCHUPS

1. Steelers G Brock Hoffman vs. Buccaneers DL Calijah Kancey

After struggling to score points out of the gate this season – the Steelers were last in the NFL in scoring through the first two weeks – the team made some changes up front to try to shore up their front and get better results in the ground game. Rookie Max Iheanachor, a first-round draft pick, replaced Dylan Cook at right tackle and veteran Brock Hoffman, a former Cowboy signed in the offseason for depth. Pittsburgh's offense has improved significantly since then, averaging just under 30 points per game and raising it's per-carry average from 3.4 yards to 4.7. Hoffman had been a part-time starter in Dallas, playing both center and guard, and he has 59 games and 19starts worth of experience. Calijah Kancey will work on either side of the nose tackle so he should see action against all of the Steelers' interior linemen, including Hoffman. Kancey does not have a sack yet in 2026 but he leads Buccaneer defenders in pressures and, according to Next Gen Stats, going into Week Five he had a 12.8% pressure rate that was seventh highest among NFL defensive tackles. Kancey has a very quick first step and that has helped him average 0.85 seconds on his get-off at the snap. Rodgers, of course, is a master at getting rid of the ball quickly enough to avoid pressure, but he has been sacked 14 times already this season, and pressure coming directly up the middle is often the most disruptive kind against any quarterback.

2. Buccaneers T Luke Goedeke vs. Steelers OLB T.J. Watt

The other side of the coin is this pass-rush matchup when Tampa Bay has the football, and it's a critical one for both teams. It's no coincidence that the Bucs got their first win in Week Five in what was also their first game without allowing multiple sacks, but the Cowboys' defense doesn'tfeature an edge rusher of T.J. Watt's caliber. Watt's otherworldly quickness at the snap – he is tied for the fastest get-off of any edge rusher or defensive linemen in the league at 0.71 – makes him a tough draw for any opposing lineman, and since he primarily lines up on the left edge of Pittsburgh's front, that challenge will primarily be presented to Bucs right tackle Luke Goedeke. Goedeke and company had their best showing of 2026 so far in Dallas, as the team ran for 241 yards and Daniels only took one sack and four QB hits. Goedeke is a powerful blocker, and his production is magnified by a nasty, play-to-the-whistle demeanor on the field. Pro Football Focus has Goedeke graded as the 19th best tackle in pass protection this season among 69 candidates. It's hard to completely shut out a pass rusher who has a career rate of 0.85 sacks per game, butkeeping him from wrecking the backfield will be important Sunday. The Steelers' career record when Watt gets two or more sacks in a game is 22-4-1.

3. Cowboys TEs Pat Freiermuth & Darnell Washington vs. Buccaneers LB Josiah Trotter

The production of the Steelers' tight end duo of Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington through five games isn't overwhelming; the two have combined for 30 catches, 300 yards and five touchdowns. However, that belies the fact that Freiermuth and Washington are a critical part of the offense that the Bucs – particularly their linebackers in the middle of the field – need to stop from hurting them. At 6-7 and 264 pounds – which he himself has said is a generously low listing – Washington is perhaps the biggest tight end in the NFL but not a non-factor in the passing game. Freiermuth isn't exactly small, at 6-5 and 258 pounds, meaning the Steelers can trot out a very big lineup to get their run game going. Pittsburgh uses two-TE personnel 24.7% of the time, which is essentially NFL average, but they can always have at least one of their two big tight ends in the mix. Freiermuth is tied for the team lead with 19 receptions and he leads the squad with four touchdown receptions. Washington has 11 catches for 131 yards and one score and is a nightmare for opposing defenders when he gets the ball and starts to pick up steam. Josiah Trotter is off to an impressive start in his rookie campaign, leading the Bucs with 37tackles, the most ever by a Tampa Bay defender through his first four career outings. Trotter's scouting report leading into the draft included questions about his coverage ability, primarily because he wasn't asked to do much in coverage at Missouri, but early returns in that department have been encouraging. After some early-season blips, the Bucs' defense showed improvement in covering tight ends in Dallas, with Jake Ferguson and Luke Schoonmaker combining for four catches and 28 yards. Trotter has become a tone-setter for the Bucs' defense already and will be more than happy to do battle with the Steelers' imposing tight ends.

4. Buccaneers RB Bucky Irving vs. Steelers LB Payton Wilson

Bucky Irving's 72-yard run against the Cowboys, in which his multiple changes of direction had Dallas defenders running into each other, was a dazzling example of the elusiveness that made him a breakout star as a rookie in 2024. Irving's second season was marred significantly by injuries and his production and propensity for big plays dipped significantly. The Bucky Irving of 2026 resembles that player from two years ago, not only in the way he stacks sharp cuts but also in his clear joy in being on the field. He finished the game with 175 yards from scrimmage and, for the first time in his career, had a touchdown run and a touchdown catch in the same game. Irving is one of the NFL's best at forcing would-be tacklers to miss, and in Dallas he had career highs in both missed tackles forced (10) and yards gained after missed tackles (122). Irving is also adept in the passing game, something the Bucs haven't leaned on much in recent games but an idea they can always pull out of their bag to try to get their most dynamic player the ball in space. Payton Wilson was a third-round draft pick by the Steelers in 2024 and after opening a total of eight games in his first two seasons he has moved into a full-time starting role in 2026. It has been a productive start for him in that assignment, as he leads the team with 40 tackles and has added a sack, six tackles for loss, two quarterback hits, two passes defensed and a fumble recovery. Wilson has a good size-speed combination at 6-4 and 233 pounds and a 4.43-second 40 time. He is a fluid mover who has sideline-to-sideline range, making him strong in coverage, as well. Wilson and fellow off-ball linebacker Patrick Queen will be looking to keep Irving from having another explosive outing.