The Green Bay Packers finally won a game in Tampa Bay against Tom Brady and the Buccaneers. It wasn’t easy, though. Green Bay was able to hold off a final touchdown drive by the Bucs to keep the score 14-12. De’Vondre Campbell saved the game with a major pass breakup on the final two-point conversion.
While he won’t show up on this list, how great was it to see David Bakhtiari back on the field? After 21 months, Bakhtiari switched series with Yosh Nijman. Regardless, it was truly a game-changer to have him out on the field.
Three Studs from the Packers' Victory over Tampa Bay
Romeo Doubs
How can I not select the Packers’ rookie who scored his first career touchdown? With the Packers down Sammy Watkins and Christian Watson, Doubs stepped up with the best game of his young career.
Romeo Doubs finished with eight receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown. Perhaps most impressive of all, he caught all eight of the passes thrown his way.
Aaron Rodgers
It would be very easy to place the four-time MVP in this category week in and week out. I do my best to diversify this section a little bit. However, given the struggles Aaron Rodgers has had on the road in Tampa Bay, it was impossible NOT to include him among today’s studs.
Allen Lazard celebrated this touchdown with the classic “puke your guts out” celebration. It was a far cry from the ayahuasca celebration from last week, but it got the point across.
Aaron Rodgers finished the day completing 27 of 35 passes for 255 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He had a passer rating of 103.9 for the game.
The Packers Defense
There were just too many great performances on defense to narrow it down to one or two guys deserving of a spot on my studs list. Therefore, they are all going on the list, particularly these performances:
Keisean Nixon
When Jaire Alexander went down with a groin injury, Keisean Nixon stepped in and was as good as anyone could have asked him to be. Not only did he finish with seven tackles and downed this punt inside the one-yard line.
Rashan Gary
This man, Rashan Gary, is an absolute monster. Three games, three sacks for the fourth-year edge rusher. While he had just three tackles, he was constantly in the backfield, winning against his blockers, and making life difficult for Tom Brady.
Kenny Clark
Another strong performance by Kenny Clark in this game! Clark had four total tackles, including two sacks. He currently leads all defensive tackles in sacks this season.
Three Duds
As nice as it is to win in Tampa Bay, there were some things that need to change as the season progresses. There were plenty of strong performances on defense, but on offense, we saw a lot of areas for improvement.
The Second Half Offense
I am not sure why the Packers have insisted on going away from what works in the first half in many of the games they have won under Matt LaFleur. In the first half, they had a great deal of success attacking the middle of the field to combat the speed of Tampa’s defenders. In the second half, there were many runs and other plays to the outside, where they were met by defenders almost immediately.
Aaron Jones
The Packers could have been up 21-3 at halftime had Aaron Jones not fumbled at the goal line in the second quarter. The Packers’ offense had not missed a beat all day up to that point. After that play, though, the offense struggled to move the ball. It truly was a game-changer.
The Injury Bug
The Packers lost two key players to injury during the course of the game. Jaire Alexander left in the first half with a groin injury. Luckily, Nixon was able to do a serviceable job in relief. Later, Josh Myers had to exit the game. Jake Hanson came in and was, well, Rodgers was sacked in the first series Hanson played in.
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