Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers carry a one-game win streak into Raymond James Stadium, looking to keep rolling against a desperate Tampa Bay Buccaneers team.
Game details
| When | Sunday, October 18, 2026 at 1:00 PM ET |
| Where | Raymond James Stadium |
| TV | CBS |
| Line | Pittsburgh Steelers -2.5 | O/U 39.5 (market view) |
| Pittsburgh Steelers record | 3-2 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers record | 1-4 |
Overview
The Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2) travel to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-4) on Sunday, October 18, 2026, with kickoff set for 1:00 PM ET at Raymond James Stadium. The game airs on CBS, and weather conditions are expected to be mostly clear with a temperature of 78 degrees and wind at 21 miles per hour.
Pittsburgh enters on a W1 streak, having beaten the Indianapolis Colts 34-22 most recently, before that a loss to the Cleveland Browns 24-27, a win over the Cincinnati Bengals 30-27, a loss to the New England Patriots 3-20, and a win over the Atlanta Falcons 20-13. Tampa Bay is also on a W1 streak, topping the Dallas Cowboys 24-16 last time out, but that followed a loss to the Green Bay Packers 14-17, a loss to the Minnesota Vikings 16-23, a loss to the Browns 19-23, and a loss to the Bengals 27-33.
Pittsburgh holds the edge on paper. The Steelers have outscored opponents 111-109 on the season, while Tampa Bay has been outscored 100-112. The market agrees, installing Pittsburgh as a 2.5-point favorite with a total of 39.5, and the absence of Baker Mayfield for Tampa Bay only widens that gap.
Key players
Aaron Rodgers leads the Steelers with an 18.0 projected DraftKings points, the highest mark on either roster.
Jaylen Warren projects for 17.0 points and anchors Pittsburgh's backfield as a starter.
Bucky Irving paces Tampa Bay's offense with a 13.0-point projection out of the backfield.
Emeka Egbuka projects for 9.0 points and becomes the clear top target for Tampa Bay with Mayfield sidelined.
DK Metcalf rounds out the group at 9.0 projected points as Pittsburgh's starting wideout.
Keys to the game
Lean on Jaylen Warren to carry the load, especially with Rico Dowdle listed as questionable with a toe injury.
Get Aaron Rodgers rolling against a Tampa Bay secondary missing Antoine Winfield Jr., who is out with a rib injury.
Contain Bucky Irving, Tampa Bay's top offensive weapon with Baker Mayfield out for the game.
Fantasy angles
Start Aaron Rodgers with confidence; his 18.0-point projection leads all players in this matchup.
Start Jaylen Warren as a lead-back option, with Dowdle's toe injury putting more of the workload on him.
DK Metcalf is a solid flex play at a 9.0-point projection.
Sit Roman Wilson, who is listed as out and projected for 8.5 points he won't have a chance to score.
Pat Freiermuth is worth a look as a streaming tight end option at 8.5 projected points.
Prediction
The market sets this one at Pittsburgh Steelers 21, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 19. That lines up with the season-long trend: Pittsburgh's offense, led by Rodgers and Warren, has enough firepower to edge a Tampa Bay team still searching for answers with Mayfield out and its secondary banged up.
Injury report
| Player | Team | Pos | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rico Dowdle | Pittsburgh Steelers | RB | Questionable |
| Michael Pittman Jr. | Pittsburgh Steelers | WR | Out |
| Jamel Dean | Pittsburgh Steelers | CB | Out |
| DeShon Elliott | Pittsburgh Steelers | S | Out |
| Jalen Ramsey | Pittsburgh Steelers | CB | Questionable |
| Baker Mayfield | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | QB | Out |
| SirVocea Dennis | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | LB | Out |
| Benjamin Morrison | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | CB | Out |
| Antoine Winfield Jr. | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | S | Out |
Depth chart
| Pos | Pittsburgh Steelers |
|---|---|
| QB | Aaron Rodgers |
| RB | Jaylen Warren, Rico Dowdle |
| WR | DK Metcalf, Roman Wilson, Germie Bernard |
| TE | Darnell Washington |
Recent results
| Team | Last games |
|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Steelers | Wk5 W 34-22 vs Indianapolis Colts, Wk4 L 24-27 vs Cleveland Browns, Wk3 W 30-27 vs Cincinnati Bengals |
In this story
- Pittsburgh Steelers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Aaron Rodgers
- Antoine Winfield Jr.
- Baker Mayfield
- Benjamin Morrison
- Bucky Irving
- DK Metcalf
- Darnell Washington
- DeShon Elliott
- Emeka Egbuka
- Germie Bernard
- Jalen Ramsey
- Jamel Dean
- Jaylen Warren
- Michael Pittman Jr.
- Pat Freiermuth
- Rico Dowdle
- Roman Wilson
- SirVocea Dennis
Written by Rhett Zone, an AI analyst, from News Hub Fantasy data (schedule, scores, box scores, injuries and depth charts), and checked against that data before it published automatically. Read how we use AI in our editorial standards.