GREEN BAY PACKERS (1-2) at TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (0-3)
Associated Press
DAY/TIME/TV: Sunday, 12:00 p.m. CDT, FOX.
LAST WEEK: Packers lost to the Falcons 35-14; Buccaneers lost to the Vikings 23-16.
LAST MEETING: Buccaneers beat the Packers 34-20 on Dec. 17, 2023, in Green Bay.
SERIES RECORD: Packers lead 34-24-1
PACKERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (22), RUSH (32), PASS (5), SCORING (29)
BUCCANEERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (23), RUSH (2), PASS (12), SCORING (23)
PACKERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (29), RUSH (28), PASS (11), SCORING (29)
BUCCANEERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (19), RUSH (24), PASS (26), SCORING (23)
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Green Bay -2; TB -5
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
COACHES CAPSULES
Matt LaFleur: 77-42-1, .646; (3-6 postseason); 8th NFL
season
Todd Bowles: 61-77, .442; (1-3 postseason); 10th NFL
season
Head to Head: LaFleur 1-1 vs. Bowles
vs. Opponent: LaFleur 1-3 vs. Buccaneers; Bowles 1-1 vs.
Packers
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TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Battle of the Bays features two struggling teams searching for an identity and a win.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-3) need a victory even more than the Green Bay Packers (1-2) on Sunday. They’re trying to avoid an 0-4 start because only one team in NFL history — the 1992 Chargers — overcame that to make the playoffs.
But 1-3 isn’t much better so there’s plenty of urgency for the Packers, who were booed at Lambeau Field following an embarrassing loss to Atlanta in their home opener last Thursday.
At least Green Bay has quarterback Jordan Love. Tampa Bay is turning to undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels after Baker Mayfield dislocated his right thumb in a loss to Minnesota.
“For us, it’s just trying to get a win,” Bucs coach Todd Bowles said. "(Jalon Daniels) is not playing by himself. Everybody has to do their job. We’ve got to coach it the right way on both sides of the ball, including special teams. He’s got to play and just do his job. We’ve got 21 other guys that (are) going to be out there playing with him, so he’s not by himself. It’s (a) nervous (feeling) but it’s exciting at the same time because you get to see somebody play. No matter where you come from, your first NFL game has to come at some point, whether you’re a first-round pick or whether you’re a free agent. You’ve got to touch the field for the first time at some point, and then you’ve got to play. He’s just got to play.”
While the Buccaneers have a new quarterback, Love will have new faces blocking for him. The Packers have had to revamp their offensive line because of several injuries. They signed veteran guards Kevin Zeitler, Laken Tomlinson and Mekhi Becton this week.
“It’s just a matter getting to work, seeing how fast those guys can pick up the offense,” Love said of the recent additions. “I think at the end of the day, putting the best five out there and there’s always going to be some competition in those positions, so do whatever the team feels best at that position.”
EMBARRASSING HOME-OPENING LOSS EXPOSES LACK OF RUSHING ATTACK
Green Bay’s most lopsided home loss in eight years underscored how the Packers must establish some semblance of a rushing attack to have any hope of competing for a fourth straight playoff berth.
“We’re going to get it going,” right tackle Anthony Belton said after the Packers were outrushed 242-17 and outscored 35-14 by the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. “That’s all I’ve got to say about it.”
They haven’t done so thus far.
Green Bay’s 146 rushing yards are the fewest in franchise history through the first three games of a season, according to Sportradar. The last time any NFL team had such a low rushing total three games into a season was in 2019, when Cincinnati, Miami and Washington all had fewer than 146 yards.
The Packers (1-2) are missing three-time Pro Bowl running back Josh Jacobs, who was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list after he pleaded no contest two weeks ago to misdemeanor charges of battery and criminal damage to property stemming from a May altercation with his then-girlfriend.
It might not have mattered who was in the backfield for Green Bay. An offensive line decimated by multiple injuries couldn’t create running room for anyone.
Green Bay’s nine rushing attempts represented the second-lowest total in franchise history, only behind a 24-14 loss to Miami in 1994 in which the Packers ran the ball just seven times. The Packers’ 17 yards rushing matched their third-lowest single game total ever.
The Packers have just 48 carries so far this year, their fewest through the first three weeks of a season since 1994, according to Sportradar.
“We’ve got to continue to work with these guys and try to figure out what we do well, because right now, I don’t know what we’re doing well offensively,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said.
Atlanta snapped Green Bay’s string of 13 straight home-opening victories. This marked the Packers’ worst home loss since the Detroit Lions hammered them 31-0 in their 2018 season finale, Green Bay’s last game before LaFleur’s arrival.
Green Bay’s inability to run the ball isn’t a new problem. Even with Jacobs on the field last year, the Packers gained just 4.1 yards per carry, their lowest single-season average since 2012.
Since then, the Packers allowed left tackle Rasheed Walker to depart via free agency and released veteran lineman Elgton Jenkins, a two-time Pro Bowl guard who moved to center last year and played just nine games before an injury shut him down.
Green Bay’s offensive line took a couple more hits when right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele tore his patellar tendon and left guard Aaron Banks injured a toe in a 20-17 overtime victory over the New York Jets on Sunday. Banks didn’t play Thursday, and Bako-Bewele will miss the rest of the season.
That left a makeshift line trying to create running room for MarShawn Lloyd and Kaleb Johnson, who had a combined 34 career carries before this season.
Neither Lloyd nor Johnson did much with the few running lanes that Green Bay’s line created. They remain hopeful they can turn this around.
“I think we definitely can do it,” Lloyd said. “We’ve just got to put our foot on the gas and go for it.”
WHAT’S WORKING
Not much. Daniel Whelan landed four of his five punts inside Atlanta’s 20-yard line.
WHAT NEEDS HELP
Take your pick. The Packers’ rushing woes are obvious. A defense that had given up just 2.9 yards per carry in its first two games allowed Atlanta’s Bijan Robinson to run for 194 yards. The secondary couldn’t cover Drake London, who had 194 yards receiving. On special teams, Trey Smack had a potential tying 47-yard field-goal attempt blocked in the second quarter. Green Bay cut its penalty totals to six – the Packers had totaled a league-high 26 in their first two games - but one was an unnecessary roughness call on Brenton Cox Jr. that kept alive an Atlanta touchdown drive.
STOCK UP
WR Christian Watson had his fourth touchdown catch of the season… WR Matthew Golden had five receptions for a career-high 100 yards.
STOCK DOWN
The entire starting offensive line featuring LT Jordan Morgan, LG Jager Burton, C Sean Rhyan, RG Jacob Monk and Belton struggled. Burton, a rookie fifth-round pick, was making his first start… QB Jordan Love is completing just 52.4% of his passes… Lloyd has just 68 yards rushing on 23 carries this season… Johnson has only 38 yards on 12 rushes… TE Tucker Kraft was targeted eight times but had just four catches for 26 yards.
INJURIES
LB Edgerrin Cooper was evaluated for a concussion in the second half. Monk left with a quadriceps injury late in the fourth quarter.
KEY NUMBER
17 — This 35-14 home-opening loss to Atlanta followed a 41-24 defeat against the Baltimore Ravens in the Packers’ 2025 home finale. This is only the third time the Packers have lost by at least 17 points in back-to-back games at Lambeau Field. The other instances came in 2006 and in 1986-87 (the Packers’ final home game in 1986 and home opener in 1987).
KEY MATCHUP
Packers wide receivers Christian Watson and Matthew Golden vs. Buccaneers cornerbacks Zyon McCollum, Jacob Parrish and Benjamin Morrison. McCollum has allowed a passer rating of just 69.3 in the first three games. He’ll be tested by Watson, who has 17 catches for 284 yards and four TDs.
STATS AND STUFF
— Packers QB Jordan Love has 89 TD passes, tied with Tobin Rote for No. 5 in team history. Love has thrown multiple TD passes in each of the first three games, the first Packers QB to do so since Aaron Rodgers in 2020.
— WR Christian Watson is the first Packers player with a TD catch in each of the first three games of the season since Davante Adams in 2018. Watson is the first Packers player with four TD receptions in the first three games since Jordy Nelson in 2016.
— Watson is the first Packers player with 15-plus catches, 275-plus receiving yards and four-plus receiving TDs in the first three games of the season since WR James Lofton in 1983.
— Safety Xavier McKinney had his 20th career interception last week.
— Packers punter Daniel Whelan placed four punts inside the 20-yard line last week.
— The Buccaneers are 0-3 for the first time since 2014.
— Jalon Daniels will be the first backup quarterback to start for Tampa Bay since Ryan Fitzpatrick in 2018.
— The Buccaneers allowed 230 total yards against Minnesota on Sunday, their fewest allowed in a game this season and the second-fewest overall since the start of the 2025 season.
— WR Ted Hurst III had a 40-yard touchdown reception vs. Minnesota for his first career score.
— OLB David Walker has two sacks in his first three career games.
— Kicker Chase McLaughlin is 9 for 9 this season. He leads the NFL with 14 field goals of at least 50 yards since 2025.
Packers at Buccaneers broadcast information.
The National broadcasts and CBS Early Game TV map.
The FOX single early game TV map.
The CBS late game TV map.
Radio stations map for the Green Bay Packers Radio Network.
The Falcons at Packers Series Capsule.
From the NFL, the Packers at Buccaneers Game Capsule.
The team rankings for both Green Bay and Tampa Bay following NFL Week 3.
The NFL officiating crew that will work the Packers-Buccaneers game.
As provided earlier this week on our social media, here is the full league schedule for NFL Week 4.
The weather forecast for Tampa, Florida on Sunday during the game.
The “Flip Cards” with both teams’ rosters for use by the media.
The final injury report for Thursdays game.
