The Bucs came out of Week 6 with the kind of loss that leaves a mark. Tampa Bay fell 26-19 to the Steelers and slipped to 1-5, with the defense doing enough to keep things within reach while the offense never found a real rhythm.
That imbalance ran through the entire afternoon, and it started with Zac Robinson’s offense. The play sequencing never seemed to settle in, and the unit spent too much of the game grinding for scraps instead of creating momentum.
The calls leaned heavily toward short gains, with very little vertical threat, and the results were ugly. Here’s how the drives played out: punt, punt, field goal, touchdown, punt, field goal, punt, field goal, punt, interception, punt, interception, field goal, turnover on downs.
That kind of day speaks for itself.
Jalon Daniels had been keeping mistakes to a minimum, but the fourth quarter changed the tone fast. His two interceptions were the turning point, and the second one helped set up the Steelers to take the lead for the first time with 1:21 remaining.
Daniels finished 22 of 43 for 164 yards with a touchdown and those two picks. He has been steady as an undrafted rookie filling in, but this time he couldn’t do enough to push the Bucs over the top.
The wide receiver usage was another head-scratcher. Emeka Egbuka drew 16 targets and turned them into seven catches for 48 yards.
Chris Godwin Jr. had eight targets, finishing with four catches for 37 yards. Neither receiver is averaging more than 10 yards per catch this season, and that’s a problem in an offense that has shrunk into too many dink-and-dunk throws with only the occasional shot downfield.
The run game never got going either, and that falls largely on the offensive line. Bucky Irving had little space to work with and no real lanes opened for him.
His longest run went for 13 yards, and even that came when he had to cut back away from the original design. Pittsburgh’s front seven won the battle up front and shut down any chance for Tampa Bay to establish balance.
Calijah Kancey had another rough one. Early in the game, he missed a chance to get his first sack, and then in the fourth quarter he was flagged for roughing the passer after hitting Aaron Rodgers late.
Instead of facing second-and-10, the Steelers got 15 extra yards and wound up in the red zone on a drive that ended in a touchdown. He doesn’t look like the player who led the team in sacks in 2024.
Riley Dixon also made matters worse in the field-position game. On a windy afternoon with the temperature cooling off in Tampa Bay, his first punt went just 28 yards and gave Pittsburgh the ball at Tampa Bay’s 44-yard line.
That set a bad tone right away, and the rest of the day didn’t get much better. Dixon averaged only 40.8 yards per punt on six kicks.
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Bucs Inactive List Creates One Big Problem Against Pittsburgh
The Buccaneers arrived for Week 6 already thin in a few key spots, and their inactive list only sharpened the edge of the matchup with Pittsburgh. Baker Mayfield and Antoine Winfield Jr. are both out with multi-week injuries, which keeps Tampa Bay without its starting quarterback and one of its most important defenders as it tries to navigate another difficult week.
Easton Stick is back as the backup quarterback for the third straight game, while the backfield got another shake-up with Sean Tucker inactive and Josh Williams elevated for the game. The Steelers brought their own list of absences into the afternoon as well, including receivers Ben Skowronek and Roman Wilson, while cornerback Jamel Dean was active and Sean Murphy-Bunting was not, leaving both sides to work around some familiar lineup uncertainty. [Read more 🡒]
Buccaneers Face A Brutal Test If Two Problems Don't Improve
Bucky Irving gave Tampa Bay exactly the kind of spark it needed last week, piling up a career-high 165 rushing yards and adding a rushing-plus-receiving touchdown against Dallas. If the Buccaneers are going to keep up that momentum against Pittsburgh, they may need Irving to stay central to the plan while the offense also gets quarterback Jalon Daniels into a cleaner early rhythm.
The matchup gets even trickier if Tampa Bay cannot tighten up two areas that have been lagging. The Bucs have had trouble getting after the quarterback, with only six sacks in five games, and they are still waiting for a first-career sack from Rueben Bain Jr., while also having to deal with Steelers back Jaylen Warren and the usual turnover battle that can swing a close game fast. [Read more 🡒]
Luke Goedeke Is Becoming A Bucs Strength Where Fans Once Worried
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The result has been a far more secure edge for the Bucs than many fans expected when Goedeke first arrived. His consistency has given Tampa Bay a valuable presence on the line and a reminder that development in the NFL is not always linear, especially for linemen who need the right position and the right role to show what they can do. [Read more 🡒]