Baker Mayfield, Buccaneers Embarrass Joe Barry, Packers 34-20
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The last time the Tampa Bay Buccaneers visited Lambeau Field, Tom Brady beat the Packers in the NFC Championship Game.
On Sunday at Lambeau Field, Joe Barry’s defense made Baker Mayfield look like Super Bowl-vintage Brady.
Mayfield threw for 381 yards and four touchdowns with a perfect 158.3 passer rating as the Buccaneers delivered a crushing blow to the Packers’ playoff hopes with a 34-20 victory on a gloomy December Sunday.
The Packers fell to 6-8, and while the standings will suggest their playoff hopes are alive and kicking, it’s going to be hard to overcome back-to-back losses to the Giants and Buccaneers.
Coach Matt LaFleur provided no hint that Barry would be fired.
"Now's not the time," LaFleur said.
Why not? That question got the same response.
"We're looking for solutions," LaFleur added later. "It's extremely disappointing to have a home game and you get manhandled in the second half of a tight game."
Tampa Bay improved to 7-7 and maintained its grasp on the NFC South lead.
Barry’s defense had been riddled by opposing rushing attacks for most of the season, allowing league-worst totals of 200-yard and 140-yard rushing games. Not on Sunday. It was Mayfield, who might have broken his career-high passing total of 397 yards, set during his rookie season of 2018, had it been necessary.
The Bucs piled up 452 yards and were 7-of-11 on third down. Chris Godwin was unstoppable with 10 receptions for 155 yards Mayfield had almost as many touchdown passes (four) as incomplete passes (six).
In his only two games with 350-plus passing yards, he threw three interceptions in each. He wasn’t close to an interceptions against the Packers, who couldn’t cover anyone.
Jordan Love finished 29-of-39 passing for 284 yards and two touchdowns, good for a 111.5 rating, but the offense was the on-again, off-again mess that it had been before a three-game winning streak against the Chargers, Lions and Chiefs raised hopes of a surprise playoff berth.
Aaron Jones rushed for 53 yards in his return, but most of those yards came on the opening drive, when Green Bay stalled inside Tampa’s 5. Dontayvion Wicks caught six passes for 97 yards; the Packers haven’t had a 100-runner or 100-yard receiver all season.
Playing for his fourth team in three years and shellacked by the Packers during visits to Lambeau Field with the Browns in 2021 and the Rams in 2022, Mayfield brought a gas can and a torch to Green Bay’s secondary, which was without Jaire Alexander for a sixth consecutive game and Darnell Savage, as well.
Mayfield’s season-high passing total was 317 yards. He hit 318 with a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Ko Kieft with 20 seconds left in the third quarter that gave the Bucs a 27-17 lead.
The Packers pulled within 20-17 on a magnificent touchdown pass from Love to Jayden Reed. The stadium was rocking with the Packers back in the game and a chance to solidify their playoff positioning. Instead, Mayfield hit tight end Cade Otton for 22, Godwin for 21 and Otton for 22 more before the touchdown to Kieft.
The Packers managed only a field goal in response, so it was 27-20 with 10:04 to play.
Could Barry’s defense get a stop or two to give the Packers a chance to rally?
Of course not, because Barry’s defense was completely and thoroughly embarrassed.
On third-and-4, Mayfield hit Godwin for 11. On the next third-and-4, Mayfield found former Packers wideout David Moore between De’Vondre Campbell and Keisean Nixon at the marker. Campbell was in front of Moore and couldn’t make a play and Nixon missed the tackle. Moore was off to the races for a 52-yard touchdown to make it 34-20 with 6:30 to play.
At this point, the Packers’ season might be down to three games. The same could be said for Barry’s three-year tenure as coordinator, which was routed by Tommy DeVito and Mayfield in back-to-back losses.
The Bucs entered Lambeau with a two-game losing streak, but that had almost nothing to do with the play of Mayfield, who was coming off matching 14-of-29 performances.
However, Mayfield looked like the greatest quarterback since the Greatest of All-Time in leading the Bucs to a 13-10 lead at halftime. Mayfield was 12-of-14 for 187 yards, with Godwin wrecking the defense with seven receptions for 108 yards.
The only touchdowns came on Love’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Tucker Kraft, which was set up by a sack-strip-recovery by Kingsley Enagbare, and Mayfield’s 19-yard strike to Mike Evans.
The Bucs had 211 yards in the first half. The only saving grace were sacks by Enagbare, Lukas Van Ness and Kenny Clark.
