Mike McCarthy Hurts Ankle but Finishes Steelers' OT Win Over Bucs
McCarthy got stepped on and spent halftime in the blue tent, yet returned to call plays in a 26-19 overtime win fantasy managers should still read closely.
Ugly first half, but the OT win and 10-0 TD-INT line keep him a stream.
- McCarthy got stepped on, spent halftime in medical tent
- Steelers won 26-19 in overtime over Tampa Bay
- Pittsburgh trailed 13-3 at the half, just 102 first-half yards
- Rodgers: 10 TD, 0 INT across 5 games in 2026
- Steelers went 1-of-6 on third down in the first half
Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy turned halftime into a medical scare on Oct. 18, limping off the field and into the blue tent after getting stepped on at the end of a brutal first half. He never addressed the team at the break, handing off much of those duties to assistant Joe Whitt Jr. The injury capped a 13-3 deficit that looked a lot worse than the final would suggest.
Here's the good news for everyone with a Pittsburgh piece on their roster: McCarthy was back on the sideline to open the second half, resumed his role as offensive playcaller, and the Steelers rallied to beat the Buccaneers 26-19 in overtime. He told reporters afterward he was feeling better. He's listed as questionable with the ankle, but nothing about his second half suggested a coach who's going anywhere.
What Actually Went Wrong
The first 30 minutes were a disaster. Pittsburgh managed just 102 yards, went 1-of-6 on third down and 0-of-1 on fourth. Darnell Washington juggled an Aaron Rodgers pass that got picked off by A'Shawn Robinson, setting up a 43-yard Chase McLaughlin field goal. Undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels carved them up for a stretch, including nine straight completions and a short touchdown to Emeka Egbuka.
The Fantasy Read
Don't let the box score early-panic you off Rodgers. He's our QB36 overall (#14 at the position) and sits at 10 touchdowns to zero interceptions through five games in 2026 (91 PPR points, actual). His form is only slightly cold — about 1.6 fantasy points below his season average over his last five games. The offense woke up enough to win in overtime, which matters more than one sloppy half.
Egbuka remains the name to watch on the other side. He's WR33 in our rankings with 53 PPR points through five 2026 games (actual), and the touchdown here keeps him trending as a usable flex in deeper formats. McLaughlin stays a bottom-tier streaming kicker at PK14, and Washington's drop-and-pick sequence won't help his already fringe TE28 profile.
Bottom line: hold Rodgers and keep rolling him as a low-end QB1 or strong stream. A coach on a tweaked ankle who still called the plays in an overtime win isn't a reason to shuffle your lineup. Monitor McCarthy's status this week, but the operation never actually skipped a beat.
