Aaron Rodgers vs. Todd Bowles should be quite a chess match when Steelers visit the Buccaneers

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Todd Bowles will have to be quite creative to surprise Aaron Rodgers.

Known for his complex defensive schemes and disguising his blitz packages, Bowles and his Tampa Bay Buccaneers are facing an elite quarterback who has seen everything in a distinguished NFL career.

Rodgers just passed Peyton Manning to move into third place for most career passing touchdowns, including the postseason.

It’ll be quite the chess match when Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2) face off against the Buccaneers (1-4) on Sunday.

“Obviously, Todd has a history of bringing a lot of pressures,” Rodgers said. “We’ll be ready for those. But he brings a lot of stuff you haven’t seen before, so, good disguise team, good pressure team. We’ll have to pick them up and get the ball out.”

The 42-year-old Rodgers, a four-time NFL MVP, has thrown three TD passes in three straight games. But he’s 1-2 against Bowles’ Tampa Bay defenses, including a loss in the 2020 NFC championship game. Rodgers threw for 442 yards and two touchdowns and ran for two scores against Bowles and the Jets in a 44-38 overtime victory with Green Bay in 2018.

“It’s a nightmare game-planning against him,” Bowles said. “He’s difficult because he’s extremely intelligent. His football IQ is unbelievable. He’s extremely accurate with the football, and he can dissect things before the play even happens. He can see it when the huddle breaks. He can see a tip here or there that a lot of people can’t see that lets him know what it is, and he knows where to go with the football and he’s very bright that way. He can bait you into a lot of things. He has a lot of tricks to the trade he (has) learned over the years."

Those tricks haven't always translated to great starts on the road in Tampa, where Rodgers is just 2-3 in his career and has two of his six career three-interception games at Raymond James Stadium.

Asked if he gets nostalgic visiting certain venues for the final time as he wraps up his 22nd and final season, Rodgers just shook his head.

“I haven’t really thought a whole lot about it, but there’s a few places I’m glad I don’t have to go back to, for sure,” he said with a laugh.

Meanwhile, the Steelers will go against an undrafted rookie quarterback who has been impressive in two starts. Jalon Daniels led the Buccaneers to a victory at Dallas last week, playing an efficient, turnover-free game.

With Baker Mayfield still recovering from a dislocated thumb, Daniels will make his third straight start. A dynamic run game took pressure off Daniels against the Cowboys. Bucky Irving ran for 165 yards and the Bucs finished with 241 on the ground.

Overall, Daniels has come a long way since beating out veteran Jake Browning for the backup job in training camp.

“Trusting my eyes, trusting what the defense was giving me and taking No. 1 or No. 2 in the progression, and if you see a hole, and it’s a gaping, wide-open hole, probably take it because, at the end of the day, you’re trying to move the sticks," Daniels said.

Pittsburgh (3-2) at Tampa Bay (1-4).

When/where to watch: Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT, CBS.

Latest odds: Steelers by 2 1/2.

Against the spread: Steelers 3-2; Buccaneers 1-4.

Last week: Steelers beat the Colts 34-22; Buccaneers beat the Cowboys 24-16.

Last meeting: Steelers beat the Buccaneers 20-18 on Oct. 12, 2022, in Pittsburgh.

Series record: Steelers lead 10-2

Buccaneers right tackle Luke Goedeke vs. Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt. The four-time All-Pro Watt is an elite pass rusher who has 119 1/2 sacks. It'll be a tough challenge for Goedeke, who had multiple penalties last week.

— Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers is 3-4 vs. the Buccaneers, including the playoffs.

— Rodgers has thrown three TD passes in three straight games, the first Steelers QB to do that since Terry Bradshaw in 1982.

— The Steelers are hurting at wide receiver. Michael Pittman Jr., Roman Wilson and Ben Skowronek are out with injuries, leaving just rapidly improving rookie Germie Bernard and a cast of largely unknowns behind DK Metcalf.

— Steelers RB Jaylen Warren had career-high 188 scrimmage yards last week and became the sixth player to have an 80-yard TD receiving and 50-yard TD rushing in the same game. Warren has 490 combined yards over his past three games.

— The Steelers are 27-6 against rookie QBs since 2007.

— Pittsburgh is 0-2 on the road this season, giving up an average of 349.5 yards in losses to New England and Cleveland.

— The Buccaneers ran for 241 yards against the Cowboys, including 165 by Bucky Irving.

— Buccaneers QB Jalon Daniels was 19 of 25 for 189 yards and one TD vs. Dallas.

— Buccaneers RB Kenny Gainwell had a career high in scrimmage yards (1,023) with Pittsburgh last season.

— WR Emeka Egbuka has 21 catches for 192 yards and one TD for the Buccaneers.

— OLB David Walker has two sacks to lead the Buccaneers.

— Buccaneers kicker Chase McLaughlin is 10 for 10 this season.

AP Sports Writer Will Graves in Pittsburgh contributed.

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles gestures to a referee during the first half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers in Tampa, Fla., Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) celibates a touchdown pass against the Indianapolis Colts during the second half of an NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/David Dermer )

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles speaks during a news conference following an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers in Tampa, Fla., Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) speaks during a press conference following an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

ATLANTA (AP) — A growing number of amusement parks have shut down roller coasters as police and state regulators investigate what caused a man to fall out of his seat and plummet to his death at a Georgia park.

Sea World Orlando in Florida and La Ronde theme park in Montreal, Canada confirmed on Thursday they had temporarily closed rides, bringing the total number of roller coasters halted to 12.

Police and a state regulatory agency are investigating what caused Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem, a 42-year-old school employee from Atlanta, to fall from the Goliath coaster on Monday. Witnesses described seeing him ejected from the coaster; some people who rode the Goliath before him raised concerns about its restraints.

Ten of the roller coasters taken out of service have the same manufacturer and a similar restraint system as the Goliath at Six Flags Over Georgia.

Erica Billups said her son and daughter rode Goliath about an hour before Kariem’s death and encountered a problem with the restraint on one seat. Her son initially sat in that seat and tried to lock it, but then moved when it repeatedly became unlocked. The roller coaster embarked with the seat empty and the harness up, she said in a post on X.

She confirmed the post in a text message to The Associated Press on Thursday.

She said staff did not tell her kids there was a problem.

Summer Bates, who was at the Georgia park with her husband and three children and saw Kariem fall, told the AP previously that her older two children kept trying to push their restraints down tighter while on the ride. She understood why they were doing that later when she was on the coaster, she said, because the restraints didn’t feel secure.

Six Flags did not immediately respond to an email for comment on any issues with restraints.

La Ronde in Montreal, Canada, said one of its coasters — also named Goliath — is offline “while we conduct a thorough safety review in collaboration with the ride’s manufacturer.”

Neither La Ronde nor Sea World Orlando said why those specific rides were closed. Both were manufactured by the Swiss company Bolliger & Mabillard, which also built the Goliath ride in Georgia and eight of the additional coasters that Six Flags closed. Bolliger & Mabillard declined Thursday to answer questions about the shutdowns.

Online photos and videos of 10 of the closed coasters show each equipped with so-called “clamshell” restraints, mounted in front of each seat on a vertical bar that sits between the rider’s knees. The bar locks the padded restraint into place over the rider’s lap and upper legs.

It’s unclear from the images whether any of the 10 coasters also have seat belts or other secondary restraints. Goliath in Georgia has no such backup restraints.

Roller coaster manufacturers decide what type of restraints to use after considering speed, force and the track’s transitions, said Brian D. Avery, a University of Florida professor and amusement ride safety expert.

He advocates the use of a backup restraint for riders, but there is a long-running debate in the industry over whether that would increase wait times, Avery said.

The company said in an email it would have no further comment until it had a “better understanding of what transpired” on Monday.

Kariem was thrown from his seat and struck other patrons before landing below the ride. Goliath, one of Six Flags Over Georgia's headline attractions, towers above the park's entrance. It opened in 2006 and features a series of hills and turns. It doesn’t take riders upside down, but its first hill rises to 200 feet (61 meters) and it has a top speed of 70 miles per hour (112 kilometers).

Nick Mendenhall, who had just ridden Goliath with his son and was watching the coaster cars passing overhead, said it looked like Kariem was hovering because the car was moving underneath him. He fell headfirst back into the coaster, Mendenhall said, and then was ejected from the ride on its final turn.

The Goliath, however, is not expected to be running.

The park, which has about a dozen roller coasters, is in Austell, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northwest of Atlanta.

Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia. Associated Press writer Dylan Lovan in Louisville, Kentucky, contributed to this report.

Attractions are seen at Six Flags Over Georgia, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northwest of Atlanta, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Attractions are seen at Six Flags Over Georgia, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northwest of Atlanta, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

A roller coaster is shown at Six Flags over Georgia on Monday, Oct. 12, 2026 in Austell, Ga. (AP Photo/Emilie Megnien)

Attractions are seen at Six Flags Over Georgia, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northwest of Atlanta, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)