The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' comeback bid in Week Six was dashed in overtime. Aaron Rodgers led a 12-play, 70-yard drive that culminated in a six-yard touchdown pass to Germie Bernard on the first possession of the extra period and the Bucs' aim to even the score ended in a fourth-down sack of Jalon Daniels by Jalen Ramsey that cemented the loss at Raymond James Stadium. Tampa Bay mounted an early 16-3 lead following a two-yard touchdown by Emeka Egbuka on a square out route and a Chase McLaughlin 33-yard field goal. However, Pittsburgh produced four-consecutive scoring drives in the fourth quarter, including three Chris Boswell kicks, which pushed the game into overtime after McLaughlin's 53-yarder with :08 on the clock in regulation.
"We've got no margin for error," said Todd Bowles. "We played hard. We play very hard, very competitive; we've got to learn how to finish ballgames, and that's all three phases. We had a chance to finish the ballgame and we didn't finish it at the end. You play that hard and you grab the lead, you've got to keep it. It's all the little things in between. We practice two-minute for a reason and both sides of the ball, we've got to finish the ballgame. They understand that as a team and we have no more margin for error."
Offensive Overview
Undrafted rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels made his third-straight start in place of injured Baker Mayfield and orchestrated a 60-yard, eight-play touchdown drive that resulted in the TD pass to Egbuka. The offense could not get into a rhythm in the second half and the team's rushing attack, which produced 241 yards on the ground on Thursday Night Football against Dallas, did not reach the same caliber of success. Daniels completed 22 of 43 attempts for 164 yards and the aforementioned touchdown, with two interceptions. He scrambled four times for 39 yards and was sacked five times, two tallied respectively by Ramsey and Nick Herbig during the clash.
Chase McLaughlin made all four of his field goal attempts but the offense hit a lull, generating only 224 yards overall. The Bucs were held to six of 19 on third down, and Bucky Irving finished the ballgame with 46 yards on 19 totes. Tampa Bay got off to an early lead and stayed in the driver's seat until late in the fourth quarter but could not secure the victory, allowing the Steelers a chance to cut their deficit and take the lead.
Defensive Outlook
Tampa Bay's defense only surrendered 144 yards and eight first downs across the first three quarters and posted the game's only takeaway to that point, an interception by defensive lineman A'Shawn Robinson. Overall, Tampa Bay held Pittsburgh to 300 net yards of offense across 76 plays for a 3.9 yards per play average. It was Tampa Bay's fewest yards per play allowed since Week Eight of the 2025 season against New Orleans (3.9). The Buccaneers posted season highs in both tackles for loss (seven) and sacks (five) on the day. The Buccaneers limited Pittsburgh to a 33.3% third-down conversion rate (5-for-15). Two Daniels' interceptions in the matchup, including one that was returned 40 yards by former Buc Jamel Dean to Tampa Bay's three-yard line in the final two minutes, resulted in field goals.
Tampa Bay's defense generated a season-high five sacks against Rodgers, with David Walker acting as the catalyst along the frontline. Walker posted five tackles (two for loss), three quarterback hits and a team-high 2.0 sacks. His 2.0 sacks marked the first multi-sack game by a Buccaneer since Anthony Nelson 10/26/25 at New Orleans (2.0). Walker became the first Buccaneer to record a game with five-or-more tackles, three-or-more quarterback hits and at least 2.0 sacks since Devin White did so 11/13/22 vs. Seattle in Munich, Germany.
Rookies Rueben Bain Jr. and Keionte Scott, who were teammates at the University of Miami and members of the 2026 draft class, each recorded their first career sack, and veteran free agency acquisition Al-Quadin Muhammad tallied one of his own. Cornerback Zyon McCollum tied for the team lead with a career-high 11 tackles on the day and added a pass defensed. Rookie inside linebacker Josiah Trotter also posted 11 tackles and a pass deflection. With 48 tackles in 2026, Trotter surpassed Lavonte David (41 in 2012) and Kendell Beckwith Jr. (41 in 2017) for the most tackles by a Buccaneer through their first five career games since at least 2000.
