Packer defense steps-up to do enough to allow two early Packer touchdowns withstand late Brady comeback

 

After an unpromising start when Tom Brady completed a 24-yard pass on the first play of the game, the Packer defense held the Buccaneers to a field goal and for most of the rest of the game did the work needed to make two early Aaron Rodgers TD passes hold up for a 14-12 Packer win. Until the final Buccaneers drive, Brady and company were held to just 203 yards of total offense, only 34 of them on the ground after the Packers allowed 180 against the Bears last week. Brady was also sacked three times for 20 yards in losses.

The defense certainly needed to step-up, unlike it didn’t the last time these two teams faced each other in regular season.  On the same field in 2020 against Brady, the offense opened up with a 10-0 lead and the Packers were blown away the rest of the game. In this game, Rodgers looked sharp on the first three drives, with a third touchdown in the offing before Aaron Jones fumbled a reception into the end zone. Perhaps the Buccaneers defense was late in adjusting to a passing game where one receiver had been the focus (Davante Adams). After that, the next eight Packer drives ended in a succession of punts, and a third quarter interception.

But the Buccaneers were themselves stifled on two drives to field goals, and then two forced fumbles and six punts was all the great Brady could muster until the final drive. After an expected win over the Bears, the defense now had to prove its mettle against a HOF quarterback who has proven to play at his best when a game is on the line, and pretty much dominated Brady enough to insure that they needed to make just one play at the end to ensure victory. The Buccaneers play-by-play announcers had all kinds of excuses for Brady and not giving the Packer defense much credit, but Brady is supposed to be the kind of quarterback who makes players around him "better."

Both teams’ defense came to play, although there still might be questions if everyone on each team’s offense is on the same page after changes in the receiving corps. During a 20 minute stretch following a Buccaneers field goal to make it 14-6 early in the third quarter, seven consecutive possessions running just 31 plays total ended in seven punts, before Brady engineered that 13-play, 89-yard drive (aided by a questionable pass interference call and a missed delay of game penalty) for a potential game-tying touchdown, but a failed two-point conversion sealed the win for the Packers.

So, the burning question is did any of the Packers’ new receivers step-up their game. Sammy Watkins and Christian Watson were both out with injuries, but rookie Romeo Doubs, who was impressive early in training camp, caught eight passes for 73 yards and a touchdown. He certainly had a better day than Davante Adams has had in the past two games; Adams has caught 7 passes for just 48 yards in that time for the 0-3 Raiders. Adams contract with the Raiders, by the way, is $140 million over a five-year period, which is rather more than what Doubs is making. 

The Packers next play a Patriots team that shouldn’t be difficult to beat, even if the offense still needs some “work.”