Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy reunite in Pittsburgh, bringing their storied history to Tampa Bay for a high-stakes showdown against a Buccaneers team fueled by former Steelers.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have played seven games against teams led by longtime coach Mike McCarthy, and the results have been pretty even.
McCarthy has won four of the games, with the most recent being in the 2023 wildcard round with the Dallas Cowboys. The Buccaneers have beaten McCarthy's teams three times, with two of those wins being recently during in McCarthy's time with Dallas (2020-2024).
Now, McCarthy is taking over his third flagship franchise. The former Green Bay Packers and Cowboys boss was hired by Pittsburgh in late January to succeed Mike Tomlin, who resigned after 19 seasons on the job. McCarthy's sixth game with the Pittsburgh Steelers will be in Tampa Bay against the Buccaneers.
McCarthy's quarterback, after six years apart, is once again Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers started for McCarthy and the Packers for 12 seasons, and now, the two have reunited in Pittsburgh.
The future Hall of Fame QB is 3-4 lifetime against Tampa, with one of those losses being in the NFC Title Game more than five years ago.
The Bucs ended up winning that year’s Super Bowl, and if Rodgers is to ever get back to the Super Bowl, this season will be his last chance.
Rodgers confirmed over the summer that his 22nd pro season will be his last, and how well the Steelers do will largely depend on him and the coach he knows so well. The Steelers’ offensive coordinator position has been a revolving door, with three men manning the post just in this decade.
Although Brian Angelichio has the title of offensive coordinator, McCarthy made it clear in his introductory press conference that he’ll be the one calling the plays.
An offensive coach is, to a large extent, only as good as his personnel, and the Steelers personnel will look different in 2026.
Gone is the team’s 2025 MVP in Kenneth Gainwell, who signed with, wouldn’t you know it, the Buccaneers this past March.
Succeeding Gainwell will be a guy Bucs fans are familiar with in Rico Dowdle, who spent last season with the Carolina Panthers and the first five with McCarthy in Dallas.
At receiver, the Steelers lost Calvin Austin III to the New York Giants.
But they acquired Michael Pittman Jr., who had 784 yards and seven touchdowns on 80 catches for the Indianapolis Colts last season.
The Steelers also locked up a key piece of last year’s offense by extending massive tight end Darnell Washington to a four-year, $42 million deal.
On defense, the Steelers have a new coordinator in Patrick Graham. A player who isn’t so new is star edge TJ Watt, who’s entering Year 11. If Watt is no longer elite, it could lead to some problems that the Bucs can exploit.
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