Pittsburgh Steelers rookie Germie Bernard has as much synergy with Aaron Rodgers as any other first-year wide receiver throughout the future Hall of Famer's career.

According to CBS' broadcast of the Steelers' 26-19 comeback overtime win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Bernard's 11 receptions is the new single-game record for a rookie from Rodgers. It's also the most for any rookie in one contest in franchise history.

With Michael Pittman Jr. (foot) and Roman Wilson (finger) on the reserve/injured list while Ben Skowronek (calf) was also inactive vs. Tampa Bay, Bernard's been thrown into a starting role by Pittsburgh and has passed that test with flying colors up to this point.

Diving into Bernard's Day

Bernard's outing got off to a bit of a adverse start.

Rodgers found Bernard on a 4th-and-3 from the Buccaneers' 42-yard line with a little under four minutes remaining in the first quarter. Bernard was already past the line to gain upon catching the ball, though he ran backward and was ultimately spotted short of a first down.

Instead of Rodgers' confidence in Bernard dropping or the rookie letting that situation get in his head, however, he quickly put that moment behind him and went to work.

Emerging as a favorite target of Rodgers and somewhat of a safety blanket over the past two games in particular, Bernard was consistently open and hauled in just about everything thrown his way all over the field.

The final product was an 87-yard performance on his aforementioned 11 catches, which included a six-yard touchdown in overtime that was ultimately the game-winner.

Bernard Looks Like a Star

When Bernard played a combined 48 snaps in the three games DK Metcalf, Pittman Jr. and Wilson have played together (Weeks 1, 2 and 4) and had just three receptions for 25 yards over that span, no one really batted an eye.

After all, it's always taken Rodgers a while to warm up to rookie receivers throughout his career. Furthermore, the 42-year-old stated, "I think you need to temper expectations for sure with Germie," on Cam Heyward's "Not Just Football" podcast in September.

It's apparent that Rodgers has taken a liking to Bernard during their time together, though, even before his breakout the last two weeks.

After the Alabama product logged four catches for 35 yards in a Week 2 loss to the New England Patriots while Pittman Jr. sat out with a foot injury, Rodgers told reporters that even though "there was stuff to clean up," he was "really pleased" with Bernard.

As is the case with any rookie, there are still aspects of Bernard's game that he has to clean up long-term. That much was clear with his blunder on fourth down against the Bucs.

At the same time, he is way ahead of schedule and producing at a borderline star level for Pittsburgh, not even halfway into his first season in the NFL.

Bernard has already shown that he has both a high floor and ceiling, and there's still plenty of room for him to grow.

"There comes a time when the confidence starts to match the potential, and I think we're reaching that time with Germie," Rodgers said after the Steelers' win over Tampa Bay. "Very proud of him."