Packers Hold Brady in Check, Hang on for Narrow Win

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Photo by Evan Siegle - packers.com

Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady - Sept. 25, 2022

Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady - Sept. 25, 2022

It’s unusual to see a defensive battle between teams quarterbacked by Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers, but with both teams missing key contributors at wide receiver, that’s exactly what happened on Sunday afternoon in Tampa.

The Packers jumped out to an early lead and dominated the first quarter thanks to a hot start from rookie receiver Romeo Doubs, taking over for the injured Sammy Watkins. Doubs had an outstanding game, catching all eight of his targets for 73 yards and a score, and serving as the team’s only legitimate field stretcher. He’s also knocking on the door of some Packer history as, after three games, he has 14 catches, which is tied for the most ever by a Packer rookie over his first three games (James Jones). Among all rookie receivers this year, Doubs is now fourth in receptions trailing only first round picks Drake London, Chris Olave, and Garrett Wilson, and ahead of first rounders Treylon Burks and Jahan Dotson. Not bad for a fourth rounder most considered an afterthought.

While Doubs played a reduced role when Watkins was healthy, it’s hard to imagine him relinquishing a starting job at this point. He’s been impressive every time he’s been given an opportunity, from preseason through this game, and while Christian Watson is injured, Doubs is easily the most dynamic target on the team.

The Packers needed a breakout performance like this from the rookie as, outside of the few deep throws to Doubs, it was basically all check-downs from Rodgers. Allen Lazard caught one touchdown, and made several tough catches to move the sticks, but so far, he’s been limited almost exclusively to short routes as he continues to recover from an ankle injury. The only other player to provide any kind of spark was, surprisingly, Randall Cobb, who looked a full ten years younger in catching two balls for a robust 57 yards, including a sideline route where he embarrassed Bucs linebacker Devin White.

Tampa Keeps Close

The Packers almost put the game away on their third drive, but an Aaron Jones fumble at the goal line forced by defensive lineman Vita Vea kept Tampa close. Tampa’s defense came out of the gate bringing pressure after Aaron Rodgers, and he did a nice job of being patient and finding the open man. After the third drive, Tampa changed up their look to only bring four, and sit in the same cover-2 shell that the Vikings used to keep Rodgers in check. It worked, as the Packer offense never attempted another deep throw outside of a “12 men on the field” free shot, as their drives continuously stalled out.

This continues to be an issue for Rodgers, who is happy to take what the defense gives him, even when the defense is giving him inefficient targets. Rodgers is currently last in the NFL in “Intended Air Yards” (5.1 per attempt) by a healthy margin, and that is not a sustainable number for a real offense. He may just be going through an adjustment period with so many new receivers, but his conservative play cost the Packers against Minnesota, and it almost cost them against Tampa.

On the other side of the ball, the defense was great. Eric Stokes had one of the best games of his career, playing every snap while being targeted only once, for six yards. Rasul Douglas wasn’t quite as efficient, but he did make several impressive stops, while Jaire Alexander was his usually dominant self until he was forced to leave the game with a groin injury. That injury isn’t believed to be serious, but if he does miss time, backup, and special teams ace Keisean Nixon will likely be manning the slot.

The best play of the game came from linebacker De’Vondre Campbell. The Bucs scored a late touchdown on a pass to Russell Gage to pull within two points, but on the two-point conversion, Campbell skied into the passing lane, getting a hand on Brady’s floater, swatting it away, and preserving the 14-12 lead. It was an exceptional bit of pass defense, which may have been aided by quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Tampa Jumbotron. After the game, Rodgers states he caught something displayed on the Tampa scoreboard that shouldn’t have been there and alerted the defense to it. While we’ll never know for sure what it was, after the game, rumors were running rampant on Reddit and other dark corners of the internet that the Jumbotron actually caught a glimpse of the actual play via Tampa’s Surface tablets.

While the Packers still have some work to do on offense, this was an impressive win over a legendary quarterback playing with one of the NFL’s best defenses. Next week they get the New England Patriots without starting quarterback Mac Jones, who suffered a severe high ankle sprain against the Ravens. Instead, it will be 37-year-old backup Brian Hoyer, though don’t be surprised if rookie Bailey Zappe, who threw 62 touchdowns for Western Kentucky last season, makes an appearance.