Another week in the NFL has gone by, and it is time for another recap of the Packers game; this time against the Buccaneers. It was a defensive battle this week as the team’s put up a combined 26 points. The Packers struggled to move the ball on the ground, but Aaron Rodgers was very efficient. The defense played really well. It was not pretty, but they did enough.
1st Half Recap
The Bucs came out with a solid six-minute drive that was stalled with a 45-yard FG. The Packers answered with a really nice six-minute drive of their own to take a 7-3 lead. It was rookie Romeo Doubs who caught his third pass of the drive for a 5-yard TD. The Bucs went 3-and-out. Then, the Pack went down for a nearly seven-minute drive for yet another TD to go out to a 14-3 lead. Bucs punt again, and the Packers are in full control.
They went down rather quickly to the Bucs 5-yardline, before an Aaron Jones fumble stopped them from going up by three possessions. The Bucs drove to the Packers 40-yardline before fumbling the ball right back. The Packers went three-and-out and the Bucs kneeled and went to half down 14-3. It was a half mostly dominated by the Packers, but they were up just 11 points. It felt like it should’ve been a much bigger lead. Nonetheless, the Packers carried a nice lead into halftime.
2nd Half Recap
The Packers punted quickly to open the 2nd half. Bucs got to midfield before fumbling again to give the Packers the ball in good field position. The teams traded punts. Then, Rodgers threw a pick to set the Bucs up at the Packers 47-yardline. It was still another letdown for the Bucs offense who were held to 3 points and made it 14-6. The teams then traded punts SEVEN times. This bled the clock all the way to just 3:04 remaining in the game.
It was a long, tiring drive for the Packers defense as the Bucs continued to pickup first-downs and get closer to a potentially game-tying score. They got to the 10 and drew a pass-interference against the Packers to reset the down. It was 1st-and-goal at the 3-yardline, but it was still a struggle for them to put it in. They finally were able get a score on 3rd-and-goal from the 1 on a Tom Brady pass to Russell Gage. This made the score 14-12.
They were a 2-point conversion away from tying the game. The play-clock hit zero just a second too early or it would have been a walk-in rush up the middle for Leonard Fournette to convert and tie the game. Fortunately for the Packers, the refs blew it dead as the clock did indeed hit zero and backed the Bucs up to the 7-yardline. There was nothing open for Brady, and the Packers got the stop they needed.
Game Recap
Overall, it was not a totally discouraging game for the Packers despite scoring just 14 points. They moved the ball pretty well, but came up short a few times. The run game will be better, but the story of the game is the receivers. More-so one receiver to be specific. Doubs had a little bit of a breakout game with 8 catches for 73 yards and a TD. He seems to be emerging as Rodgers’ number one receiver. Allen Lazard being back is helping as well, but it is Doubs I am looking at to continue to produce.
What Comes Next
The Packers host the Patriots in week 4. The Pats come in without Mac Jones, so it could be a rough game for them. The Packers defense is gelling right now, and Rodgers is playing like himself. The run game will look to bounce back after both Jones and A.J. Dillon were held to 3.0 yards or less per carry. Doubs will look to build off of his performance, too. The Packers should be in for a good week.
