Packers’ unconvincing showing enough against Buccaneers

The Green Bay Packers travelled to Tampa Bay looking to halt a two-game skid and get their season back on track. At 1-2, Green Bay had endured a shocking loss to the Atlanta Falcons the previous week and faced a Buccaneers side that had also struggled out of the gate.

Tampa Bay entered the matchup at 0-3 and without Baker Mayfield, who missed the game with a dislocated thumb. That handed rookie Jalon Daniels his first NFL start, putting the pressure on the young quarterback to lead an offense that had struggled early in the season. With both teams desperate for a win, the matchup represented an important early-season crossroads.

After some promising plays to begin his starting debut, Daniels’ second pass attempt of the game was picked off by Packers ballhawk Evan Williams, giving Green Bay the field position they needed to put points on the board after another slow offensive start.

Despite seemingly their best efforts to not score at all, a 4th down decision to go for it paid dividends, as Jordan Love found the breakout sophomore Matthew Golden for a 2-yard touchdown to take the lead early on in the second quarter.

A combination of solid defense and sub-par offense had a stronghold over the game for the most part, with neither team able to gain any sort of the consistency required to sustain drives.

But it was Daniels and the Buccaneers who broke through. A 9-play drive, which seemed Herculean in the context of this game, ended in a touchdown run by Sean Tucker to tie the game, sparking some life into the home crowd, who hadn’t had much to be excited about thus far in 2026.

But much to his detriment, the debutant’s inexperience shone through at times. An ill-advised throw resulted in his second interception of the opening half, which gave an uninspiring Packers offense enough spark to end the half with a 58-yard field goal by fellow rookie Trey Smack, who converted from deep.

Green Bay appeared keen to rip the game open early on in the third term, particularly Kaleb Johnson, who broke loose for a big gain before a challenge confirmed that Tucker Kraft had scored in the corner of the end zone, doing incredibly well to drag his feet and remain inbounds.

Daniels continued to have more success using his legs than through the air, taking off for a few significant carries of his own to lead Tampa Bay downfield. But he threw for his first career touchdown, finding new Buccaneer Kenneth Gainwell to keep the home team within touching distance.

With the Packers on the doorstep of scoring what might have been the game-sealing touchdown, a fumbled handoff allowed Zion McCollum to swoop on the ball and reignite life into the Buccaneers. But they would need to go all of 96 yards down the field to take the lead.

They were unable to do so on their first attempt, in the end lucky not to turn the ball over as Daniels had to jump on his own fumble. A short punt meant Love and the Packers were perfectly positioned to either chew the clock or land a knockout blow.

Just when it appeared impossible for this game to have another twist due to a poor piece of offense, Love threw a needless pass into danger, which was intercepted by Jacob Parrish, giving Tampa Bay a renewed opportunity to go the length of the field and potentially win the game.

When Buccaneers fans began to dare to dream, a huge sack by Williams to complement his earlier interception proved too much to overcome, turning the ball over on downs and succumbing to a narrow defeat.

Green Bay were far from impressive again, but they did what they needed to do to remain in the hunt. It’s been said after each of their 4 games now, but significant improvement must be made before they run into a true contender if they are to really compete.

Touchdowns
Green Bay: Golden, Kraft
Tampa Bay: Tucker, Gainwell

Top Performers
Green Bay: Kraft, Cooper, Williams, McKinney, Love
Tampa Bay: Parrish, McCollum, Robinson, Trotter

Injuries
Green Bay: Cooper (achilles)
Tampa Bay: N/A

Crowd: TBC at Raymond James Stadium