The Bucs started the game with the ball from their own 25-yard line. After a first-down completion to Breshad Perriman for 24 yards off a play-action pass, Tampa turned to Leonard Fournette for a first-down run. On 2nd-and-5, Fournette powered forward for 4 yards bringing up a 3rd-and-1. A Kenny Clark stuff of Fournette brought up a critical 4th-and-1 out of the gate, which Tampa Bay converted on a quick out to newly-acquired Cole Beasley, moving the chains. The ensuing first down was yet another completion, this time to the former Minnesota Viking, Kyle Rudolph for a gain of 11 and a first. Inside the Packers’ 30, Fournette moved the ball into the red zone, but was stopped for a loss on second down to move the Bucs outside of the 20. On 3rd-and-5, The Bucs went empty and Kenny Clark got to Brady for a loss to bring out the field goal unit. A Ryan Succop 45-yarder gave Tampa Bay a 3-0 lead.
On the Packers’ first turn, starting that their own 25, last week’s hero Aaron Jones took a handoff for a gain of 3. Jones took the ball out of the Pony package for a gain of 10 and a first down, behind David Bakhtiari, his first game since the 2020 season. An 8-yard completion to Jones and a completion to Romeo Doubs gave the Packers 1st-and-10 in the Bucs territory. Turning to AJ Dillon for a carry of 4 yards, Dillon was stopped for a modest gain bringing up 3rd and 6 at the Bucs’ 29. A quick pass to Randall Cobb would convert for a gain of 17, moving the chains for Green Bay.
On 1st-and-10, Aaron Jones got yet another carry, this time for a loss of two bringing up 2nd-and-long. Turning to Doubs yet again for a gain of 9. On 3rd-and-3, Aaron Rodgers hit Doubs for his third catch on the drive on a quick slant for a touchdown. Mason Crosby nailed the kick to make it 7-3 Packers. On the drive, Rodgers was 5-5 for 60 yards and the aforementioned touchdown to Doubs, the first of his career.
A holding call on the Bucs’ first play of their next drive pushed them back to their own 13, giving them a 1st-and-20 to start. A Dean Lowry tackle of Fournette for no gain brought up a 2nd-and-long for Tampa Bay, on which Brady hit Russell Gage for a gain of 8. On 3rd-and-12, Brady hit Perriman for a gain of 5 forcing a punt with the first quarter winding down. An Amari Rodgers fair catch gave the Packers possession at their own 29.
The Packers turned back to Aaron Jones on first down on a toss to the right for a gain of 3 to wrap up the first quarter. Of note, to start the drive, Yosh Nijman took Bakhtiari’s spot at right tackle – part of the “plan” for managing Bakhtiari in his return to the field. Switching sides, A flare pass to AJ Dillon was stopped for a loss, bringing up 3rd-and-8, on which Rodgers was forced to call a timeout with the playclock winding down. After the break, Rodgers was able to hit Robert Tonyan to convert the first down, just avoiding pressure long enough to avoid the sack and move the chains. Hitting Doubs on first down for a gain of 9 brought up 2nd-and-1, and their second timeout in as many plays after a personnel malfunction.
After this timeout break, Quadzilla himself was able to power through to move the chains after a gain of 3. After missing a quick pass to Jones on first down, AJ Dillon was able to squeeze through a pile for a gain of 4. With Tampa scrambling to make substitutions, the Packers snapped quickly, seemingly catching the Bucs with too many men, however it was blown dead for a Tampa timeout. With the crowd going berzerk, Rodgers calmly hit Allen Lazard on a mesh crosser to convert the first down for a gain of 7. Devin White made his presence known on the next 1st-and-10, popping Aaron Jones for a short gain. Shoveling a pass forward to Dillon, the Packers set themselves up on a third-and-short which was easily converted to Tyler Davis for a big gain deep inside Tampa Bay territory. At the 6, Rodgers zipped (and I mean zipped) a slant in to Lazard for a 6-yard touchdown extending the Packers’ lead to 14-3 with 8:44 to go in the half.
The next Tampa drive began with a short gain and a penalty, with Brady hitting Cameron Brate for a gain of 5. After yet another false start penalty to bring up 3rd-and-12, Brady was sacked by Rashan Gary to bring out the punting unit for the Bucs. It was an impressive effort by Gary to fight through the block to bring down the Bucs QB.
After the punt, which was returned by Amari Rodgers for a short gain, Rodgers and the Packers’ offense came back out. Rodgers connected with Cobb for a huge gain of 44 on an RPO play, down to the Tampa 22. On first down, AJ Dillon almost broke a run, but still gained 6. On second down, Dillon did the same thing – powered through for another 6 and a first down and goal. After a short runs by Jones and Dillon, respectively, Rodgers hit Jones on a quick pass near the goal line, but a big hit by Vita Vea forced a Jones fumble which was recovered by the Bucs’ Lavonte David in their own end zone.
Starting from their own 20, a Rasul Douglas penalty for hands-to-the-face helped out the Bucs going into the two-minute warning. After completions to Brate and Gage, the Bucs kept it moving with a first-down run to Fournette. After a completion to Perriman, he fumbled the ball which was recovered by Darnell Savage on a huge hit by rooke Quay Walker. The Packers get the ball back with :41 seconds to go in the half. With only one timeout remaining, the Packers moved into hurry-up mode, but were forced to punt with only seconds remaining going into halftime.
Starting on their own 25 to open the second half (with Bakhtiari back at left tackle), the Packers opened up with a Romeo Doubs first-down completion that was negated by an Allen Lazard block-in-the-back penalty. Rodgers hit Doubs again on 1st-and-12 for a short gain, then Aaron Jones snuck his way to a gain of 5. On 3rd-and-3, AJ Dillon missed a short pass from a pressured Rodgers to force a Pat O’Donnell punt to give the Bucs the ball back at their own 20.
After a quiet finish to the half, Leonard Fournette got Tampa going again with gains of 6, 3 and 2 on three consecutive plays to move the chains. Moving with an uptempo offense, Brady threw incomplete to Cameron Brate, but a pass interference penalty on Savage moved the ball up for the Bucs. An incomplete pass on first down, followed by a Kesean Nixon (filling in for the injured Jaire Alexander) forced fumble on Russell Gage which was recovered by Jarran Reed put the Pack back in business near midfield. After shorter gains from Doubs and Tonyan bringing up 3rd-and-4, Rodgers missed Juwann Winfree on a back shoulder pass to bring up 4th down. Nixon makes another highlight play, this time on the punt, downing the ball inside the Bucs’ 1-yard-line. A tremendous play by the Packers’ special teams.
When Brady threw incomplete to Fournette on first down, Russell Gage slipped on second down on an intended pass, leaving him limping and running off the field. After De’Vondre Campbell broke up a Brady-to-Beasley connection, the Bucs were forced to punt deep in their own end. Amari Rodgers broke off a nice return, however a running-into-the-kicker penalty forced a re-kick. On the ensuing punt, another Rodgers return forced another penalty, pushing the Packers back to their own 35. A huge swing in field position. Starting with short runs to Dillon and Jones bringing up 3rd-and-5, Rodgers was intercepted by Logan Ryan putting the Bucs in Packers’ territory to start their drive. That makes four straight possessions for the Packers without a first down.
A play-action pass to Brate on first down on a chunk play pushed the Bucs down to the Packers’ 28. After a miss, Fournette fought hard for a short gain of 1. On 3rd-and-9, Brady threw deep for Perriman, which fell incomplete bringing out the field goal unit. Kesean Nixon with another flash play with great coverage. On the kick, Ryan Succop drilled the 45-yarder to make it 14-6 green and gold with 6:22 to go in the third. After the kickoff, the Packers had the ball at their own 25.
A throw up the seam from Rodgers to Doubs for 15 finally got the chains moving, and then a first-down toss to Aaron Jones was stopped for a loss. Next, Rodgers hit Tonyan for a gain of 4 forcing a 3rd-and-7. Rodgers rolled out and hit Jones, however it was well short of the sticks and forced yet another punt back to Tampa Bay. Despite the first down, the Bucs defense holds strong yet again. Pat O’Donnell’s punt pinned the home team down near their own ten, and out comes Tom Brady in a one-possession game.
Leonard Fournette opened the drive for the Bucs with a tough run for 5. Brady then hit Gage for a gain of 7 and a first down on a throw in traffic. A screen pass to Fournette was wrecked by Adrian Amos for a loss of 3, and on 2nd-and-13, Gage hauled in another pass for a gain of around 10 bringing up a short third down. Brady was able to evade both Rashan Gary and Kenny Clark for an impressive first down run, but a holding penalty brought the ball back. On the following 3rd-and-13, Brady was forced to chuck a screen pass into the ground forcing a punt.
Opening the fourth quarter after a short run by Dillon, the Packers were faced with a third-and-short after a completion to Tonyan. On 3rd-and-2, Aaron Jones was stuffed to stymie yet another Packers drive. Trying to force an offside penalty unsuccessfully, O’Donnell came out again to punt, downing the Bucs at their own 15 with 13:17 to go. Tampa’s next drive would fall short of the sticks as well, after a third down completion to Cole Beasley didn’t quite gain enough. The punt exchange would continue, this time back to the Pack.
Starting at their own 20 after an Amari Rodgers fair catch, the Packers looked to gain the offensive momentum they held earlier in the game. A first-down holding penalty pushed Green Bay back 10 yards, and on 1st-and-20, Dillon was stuffed yet again. Rodgers threw up a free play on second down which was intercepted, but a 12-men penalty on the Bucs gave the Packers a five-yard advantage. Another short completion to Tonyan gave the Pack a 3rd-and-5, which was failed on a short completion to Tyler Davis. Another Green Bay punt.
Tampa hit Jalen Darden for a gain of 25 yards on first down, and a failed trick play resulted in a huge loss of 12. A Brady sack by Kenny Clark for another 8 yielded a 3rd-and-30 which led to a gain of 12 from Cameron Brate. Do you love punts? Then you love this game — out comes the Bucs punt team yet again, downing the Packers a their own 13.
An incompletion to Lazard on first down and a 5-yard run by Aaron Jones put the Packers in a manageable spot on third down. Lazard was able to get open for a gain of 6 and a first down, moving the chains in a crucial moment, with under 5 minutes remaining. Jones ground out a nice run of 6 yards on first down, and Lazard beat Antoine Winfield Jr. on a deep fade for a gain of 26. For the first time in a while, the Packers offense was moving the football, now approaching 3 minutes to go in the game. Rodgers threw incomplete to Winfree, and on 3rd-and-10, he was sacked near the 50 by Logan Hall to thwart the possession.
Pat O’Donnell dropped a punt right at the 10, leaving Tom Brady and the Bucs with 90 yards and 3 minutes to go to have a chance to tie the game. Brady hit Gage for 9 on first down, then Gage again for 15 approaching the 2-minute warning. Another Gage completion gained 5, and Brady hit Fournette on a busted coverage for 17 at the Packers’ 43-yard-line. After the 2-minute warning, Brady hit Brate for 10 and another first down. In the hurry-up, Brady fell incomplete to Gage, and then hit Fournette for 10 and a first down with 1:26 to go at the Packers’ 22. A short completion to Scottie Miller brought up a first-down completion to Russell Gage, yet again with :51 seconds to go. The clock running, Brady finally fell incomplete on an attempt to Miller. Then, on second down, Brate drew a pass interference penalty on Adrian Amos at the 3 with :26 seconds to go.
Fournette received the next handoff, but was stopped short at the 2 with :20 seconds to go. Timeout Bucs. On 2nd-and-goal, Brady fell incomplete on a play-action pass to Brate, bringing up 3rd-and-goal and :18 seconds remaining. Out of the shotgun, Brady changed the play at the line. After some motion, Brady hit Gage on a tough catch for the touchdown, bringing the Bucs within 2 points.
On the two-pointer, the Buccaneers suffered an inexplicable delay of game call. On the ensuing attempt, this time from the 7, De’Vondre Campbell batted away the pass attempt, maintining the Packers’ 14-12 lead. Allen Lazard recovered the onside attempt, and the Packers would fly back to Green Bay a 2-1 football team.
Offensive MVP
David Bakhtiari suited up for the first time in what feels like years. Rotating with Yosh Nijman, he seemingly performed well – and stayed healthy – in a tremendous spot against the Bucs. It’s impossible to not be ecstatic for #69. Glad to have him back.
Defensive MVP
Kesean Nixon came up with some huge flash plays today, filling in for Jaire Alexander who left with a groin injury. While it wasn’t perfect, his forced fumble and timely coverage plays helped out a defense who balled out today against Tampa Bay.
What Went Right
The offense the first three possessions, leading up to the Jones fumble, was the best they’ve looked all year, by a longshot. Effective runs, efficient passes and stout defense helped the Packers come within feet of a 21-3 lead. While they struggled after, it’s clear the pieces are there for this offense to be successful down the line.
What Went Wrong
The defense on the final drive felt like being on defense in Madden, when the opponent was running hurry up and hot-routing all over you. They couldn’t stop anything, including a touchdown to the uncoverable Russell Gage in the game’s waning seconds. They made the big play when it mattered, however, with Campbell saving the day on the two-point conversion.
Next up brings Bill Belichick and the Patriots to Lambeau, for what is sure to be another challenge for the Packers’ offense.
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Tony Wilson takes pride in journalism training from 2/3 of directional-Michigan MAC schools. A former Sporting News writer, Tony now focuses on the Packers from his home in Toledo, OH. His beer of choice is a Miller Lite from the bottom of the cooler. You can find him on Twitter @GlassCityPack.