Studs and Duds as Packers Lead Buccaneers at Halftime

The Green Bay Packers lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10-7 on Sunday.

The Packers took a 7-0 lead on Matthew Golden’s leaping touchdown catch on fourth-and-goal at the 2. It was the third fourth-down conversion on the drive, which was set up by Evan Williams’ interception.

The Buccaneers, after going three-and-out on two of their first three possessions, took advantage of a short punt by Daniel Whelan for a 54-yard touchdown drive. Sean Tucker gained 8 on fourth-and-1 before scoring from the 2.

The Packers took their halftime following Edgerrin Cooper’s interception and Trey Smack’s 58-yard field goal on the final play. Green Bay will get the ball to start the second half.

Here’s our first-half winners and losers.

Stud: S Evan Williams

Evan Williams isn’t just one of the NFL’s best young safeties. He’s one of the best safeties, period.

Williams, who entered the game with a team-high 25 tackles, baited Jalon Daniels into an interception on the second possession. Daniels fired a pass at the sideline to top receiver Emeka Egbuka. Williams, though, made a sensational interception at the sideline. The Packers turned the turnover into a touchdown.

Then, late in the first half, Williams made a superb pass breakup on third-and-1.

Stud: LB Edgerrin Cooper

Edgerrin Cooper progressed through the concussion protocol on Saturday and dominated on Sunday with nine tackles, including one sack, and an interception late in the first half that at (at least) a six-point swing as the Packers took a 10-7 lead into intermission.

Dud: LT Jordan Morgan

It wasn’t a bad start for Jordan Morgan. He, obviously, had a key role in Jordan Love having time in the pocket throughout the half.

However, on first-and-goal at the 1, he missed linebacker Josiah Trotter as Chris Brooks lost 2 yards. On second down, he was pushed into the backfield by big, powerful A’Shawn Robinson, which doomed MarShawn Lloyd to a loss of 3.

The Packers scored a touchdown, anyway.

Stud and Dud: TE Tucker Kraft

Here’s the Tucker Kraft that the Packers signed to a big contract extension before Week 1. That he got off to a slow start to the season was no surprise – he was coming back from a torn ACL, after all.

On the opening series, Kraft took a screen for 17 yards. It was vintage Kraft with 18 yards after the catch and two broken tackles. On the second possession, he converted a fourth-and-1 with an easy 10-yard catch run. Later on the drive, on fourth-and-1, he took a quarterback sneak for 3, with Jordan Morgan and even Jordan Love providing the blocking.

And then, on the first play of the second quarter and on a continuation of the fourth-and-1 drive, Kraft was wide open in the corner of the end zone and dropped a perfectly placed ball by Love.

Stud and Dud: WR Matthew Golden

First, on fourth-and-goal at the 2, Matthew Golden drew his third pass-interference penalty of the season. It was a bit of a weak call, to be sure, with Jordan Love and Golden not on the same page, but Jacob Parrish had his arm wrapped around Golden for a moment.

On the next play, Golden caught a fade over Keionte Scott for the touchdown. It was teach-tape stuff, with Golden winning at the line of scrimmage, making the catch and spinning away from Scott to keep the ball out of harm’s way.

However, after the Buccaneers tied the game 7-7, Golden beat Parrish cleanly for what should have been a catch and first down. Instead, Parrish knocked the ball loose. The fumble was overturned by replay but the fourth-down drop meant a punt.

Dud: WR Bo Melton

This week, coach Matt LaFleur mentioned Bo Melton as one of the “committee” members who would help replace Jayden Reed.

Well, on third-and-2 on the opening possession, Melton broke free up the seam for what should have been a catch of 30-plus yards into the red zone. Instead, he dropped the ball when he hit the turf.

“We got the guys for it,” Melton said of replacing Reed. “As you can see, we make plays at receiver. We have a bunch of guys who have made plays, who continue to make plays. We trust and believe in ourselves regardless. We’ve done it before. It’s nothing new. Even when J-Reed was here, guys were playing. Guys were still getting their opportunities. Your role might increase but we’re always ready for that. That’s part of the game. That’s what you want.”

Stud: Jordan Love’s Pass Protection

For the first time this season, Jordan Love didn’t spend his time getting hit from the left, hit from the right or hit up the middle. Love wasn’t sacked and was hit only once – by Vita Vea, who eventually bullied Sean Rhyan into the lap of Love.

Against a blitz-happy defense, it was a strong performance with Laken Tomlinson starting at left guard and Travis Glover getting the start at right guard.

Dud: Running Backs’ Run Blocking

The running game was, generally, terrible. Chris Brooks had a 27-yard run, with left guard Laken Tomlinson, left tackle Jordan Morgan and tight end Mark Redman getting Brooks into the clear. The Buccaneers, who entered the game ranked second in the NFL against the run, hadn’t allowed a run of longer than 14 yards to start the season.

Otherwise, though, it was a whole lot of nothing. Brooks’ other three carries gained 3 yards, MarShawn Lloyd had five carries for 5 yards and Kaleb Johnson had three carries for 3 yards. So, other than the one big run, the Packers’ backs carried 11 times for 11 yards.