Packers Can't Convert When It Matters, Fall to Bucs

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Photo Credit: Corey Wilson / Packers

Green Bay should probably be on their way to a Super Bowl. They outgained Tampa by 30 yards, picked up four more first downs, won the turnover battle, and dominated time of possession. Unfortunately, a catastrophic breakdown at the end of the first half, compounded by an Aaron Jones fumble to start the second half, undid everything, and cost the Packers a trip to the big game.

The Packers run a sophisticated offense in terms of pre-snap motion, play-action, and aggressiveness, while the Bucs are more old-school, counting on their personnel to win battles. The problem for Green Bay is that fundamentally, Tampa has a much deeper roster on offense and defense. Tom Brady quickly identified the weak links of defense, and attacked them repeatedly, and mercilessly. Brady’s first victim was slot corner Chandon Sullivan. Sullivan is an average corner at best, and the Bucs managed to get him singled up repeatedly against star outside receiver Chris Godwin, converting several long third downs. Brady then turned his attention to Kevin King for the game’s first touchdown to Mike Evans, and he did not cease attacking King until Packer defensive coordinator Mike Pettine finally made a few halftime adjustments, increasing the pressure on Brady and providing King with help.

Despite a furious second-half rally by the Packers, the damage had already been done, as a series of huge errors, non-calls, and gutsy plays by the Bucs near the end of the first half provided Tampa Bay with an insurmountable lead. It all began with an uncharacteristic interception from Aaron Rodgers with 34 second left in the half. The officials did not call a single penalty in the first half of the game despite several obvious, and occasionally dangerous plays, including a clear facemask of Aaron Jones by Devin White. Referee Clete Blakeman and his crew signaled early that they would let the players be as physical as they wanted, and Tampa capitalized. On the interception, Tampa cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting clearly interfered with receiver Allen Lazard, but the officials swallowed their whistles and the interception stood.

The Green Bay defense rallied to stop the Bucs, but because there wasn’t much time remaining, Tampa decided to go for it on 4th and 4, and converted on a pass to running back Leonard Fournette when linebackers Christian Kirksey and Krys Barnes took poor angles. During the regular season the Bucs almost never went for it on fourth down. They even had the punt team on the field briefly, but head coach Bruce Arians eventually reconsidered, and it paid off big.

Easy Touchdown

On the very next play, slot receiver Scotty Miller found himself lined up in single coverage with Kevin King, and Tom Brady punished the Packers for it. Miller got behind King for the easiest 39-yard touchdown you will ever see, with just one second remaining in the half. It appears that safety Will Redmond was caught out of position, but the defensive alignment, and King’s technique were both inexcusable given the situation. If the Packers should have, at worst, kept the Bucs out of the end zone and forced a field goal attempt.

The touchdown put the Packers in a 21-10 hole at the half, but the Green Bay did receive the ball to start the second half and could have gotten themselves back into the game. Unfortunately, a monstrous hit from linebacker Devin White jarred the ball loose from Aaron Jones on a crossing route, and one play later, Tom Brady hit an uncovered Cameron Brate to make it 28-10.

The defense played quite well after the halftime debacle, with Adrian Amos and Jaire Alexander combining to pick Brady three times, but unfortunately the offense regressed, and the Packers leaned heavily on a shotgun-based approach with no deception to make things easier on Rodgers. Green Bay managed one sustained drive after the Amos interception, culminating in a two-yard score to Davante Adams, but could not capitalize on either Alexander interception, going three-and-out after each. 

Interference Penalty

Tampa did a nice job getting pressure on Rodgers, just as they did in week six. They were able to capitalize on the loss of David Bakhtiari, and consistently beat tackles Rick Wagner and Billy turner, sacking Rodgers 5 times in total. The Packer offensive line did an especially poor job in understanding the officials and the type of game they were permitted to play. They failed to bend the rules as much as their Tampa counterparts who were not shy about holding or going to the face of oncoming defenders. In fact, on the game-ending pass interference penalty, called on Kevin King with 1:46 remaining, right tackle Tristan Wirfs committed one of the most obvious holding penalties you will ever see, wrapping up Rashan Gary from behind.

That call was the subject of quite a lot of post-game criticism by fans and media, and with good reason. While King clearly committed a penalty by tugging on the jersey of receiver Tyler Johnson, such plays were the norm all day. Deciding to finally throw a flag for pass interference in that moment when the exact same contact had been permitted all game, and had previously resulted in a Packer interception, is not defensible. If the Packers’ defense holds on that play, they force a Tampa punt. They get the ball back around their own 20-yard line with about 1:35 remaining and a timeout, down by five points. That is an eternity in football, and if nothing else would have led to an exciting finish. Instead, the officials ended Green Bay’s season, and robbed us of a potential comeback attempt. Matt LaFleur made a controversial decision to kick a late field goal rather than go for it on fourth down, cutting the lead to five with 2:09 remaining, and while most criticized the decision, it very nearly worked out. 

It is infuriating to see a season end based on so many factors outside of their control. While Green Bay could have played better and have only themselves to blame for how the first half ended, they were also colossally unlucky, and played well enough to win the game. They now enter an uncertain offseason with a shrinking salary cap, and several hard decisions on impending free agents like Corey Linsley and Aaron Jones. They’re good enough to keep the window open for another season or two, but chances like this are rare.