‘I’m Sick’: Packers Beat Buccaneers But Hit With Another Devastating Loss

Even when the Green Bay Packers win, they lose.

The Green Bay Packers beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17-14 on Sunday. However, they lost star linebacker Edgerrin Cooper to an Achilles injury in the third quarter.

With their first drive of the second half, the Packers drove to a touchdown that extended their lead to 17-7.

On a third-and-8 on the ensuing possession, safety Xavier McKinney blitzed from the left side of the defense for a sack. On the right side of the defense, Cooper took one step forward and fell to the turf. He acted as if he had just been tripped – he was not – then grabbed his ankle. A couple minutes later, he was driven off the field on a cart.

The Packers ruled out Cooper with an Achilles injury.

“Man, I’m sick,” quarterback Jordan Love said.

“Not good,” coach Matt LaFleur said of Cooper’s outlook. “I would suspect that” he will miss the rest of the season.

The Packers, already playing without Micah Parsons following last year’s knee injury and with right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele and receiver Jayden Reed out with season-ending injuries sustained during the Week 2 win at the Jets, it was another devastating blow to a team that opened the season with Super Bowl aspirations.

Love was 22-of-30 passing for 197 yards with touchdowns to Matthew Golden and Tucker Kraft. Critically, he was not sacked. The Packers were 2-of-10 on third down but 3-of-3 on fourth down.

Green Bay improved to 2-2 and will host the rival Chicago Bears on Sunday.

“We’ll take the win, for sure. We needed that,” Love said.

Packers Hang on for 17-14 Victory

Jordan Love’s interception gave the Buccaneers and their undrafted rookie quarterback, Jalon Daniels, a chance late in the game. On third-and-3, Daniels hit tight end Cade Otten for 4 to give them a first down at the 40 at the 2-minute warning.

On the next play, Daniels hit Otten in the flat for a catch-and-run gain of 14. After Cooper’s replacement, Isaiah McDuffie, missed a point-blank sack of Daniels, Evan Williams made amends on the next play by dropping Daniels for a loss of 6.

A short pass on third-and-16 made it fourth-and-11 with the teams exchanging timeouts with 1:34 to go. Williams struck again with another well-timed blitz. He grabbed Daniels around the leg and hung on for dear life; Daniels’ pass was short of the mark to end the game.

Packers Blow Chance for Knockout

With the Packers clinging to a 17-14 lead, they drove to the brink of a touchdown on a methodical drive early in the fourth quarter. On third-and-3, Love hit Christian Watson for 18. On third-and-4, linebacker Alex Anzalone was called for defensive holding – a ticky-tack call against Skyy Moore.

This had been a flirt-with-disaster drive, though. Travis Glover, the surprise starter at right guard, was flagged for holding. Tucker Kraft, who dropped one touchdown pass but caught another, was flagged for a false start. The Packers overcame those miscues, and then got a huge break when MarShawn Lloyd’s fumble bounced out of bounds at Tampa’s 16.

Finally, on first-and-goal at the 3, Kaleb Johnson got the ball knocked loose by, officially, defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson. The Bucs recovered at the 4 with 9:06 to go.

The Packers’ defense rose to the occasion. After the Bucs gained a first down on a receiver screen, Keisean Nixon blew up another receiver screen. On third-and-14, center Graham Barton’s shotgun snap appeared to hit him in the butt. Daniels recovered but was sacked by Brenton Cox at the 1.

The Packers took over at the Bucs’ 33 after Skyy Moore’s 11-yard punt return. On first down, Love’s checkdown to Lloyd gained 13 after he hurdled cornerback Zyon McCollum. However, moments later, Love fired one up the seam to Matthew Golden. Cornerback Jacob Parrish came off his man, tight end Jonnu Smith, and made a big-time interception, which gave the Bucs the ball at their 15 with 4:18 remaining in regulation.

The new offensive line, with veteran addition Laken Tomlinson at left guard and with Travis Glover making his first start at right guard with Kevin Zeitler not ready, Love was not sacked.

“It was great,” Love said. “I think the O-line did a great job today, just keeping me clean, giving me some time. You could feel the difference back there, for sure.”

Edgerrin Cooper’s Interception Helped Packers Lead at Halftime

The Packers led 10-7 at halftime thanks to interceptions by Evan Williams and Cooper turning into a touchdown catch by Matthew Golden and a 58-yard field goal by Trey Smack.

Daniels, Tampa Bay’s undrafted rookie quarterback, played with solid poise in the first half. However, he made two big mistakes that allowed Green Bay to take the lead.

First, he thought he had Emeka Egbuka at the sideline. Instead, Williams made a brilliant interception before tumbling out of bounds. One play later, Chris Brooks took advantage by excellent blocking from the new left-side tandem of Jordan Morgan and lake Tomlinson along with tight end Mark Redman for a gain of 27. That was, as you might have guessed, the team’s longest run of the year.

Late in the half, the Buccaneers were on the move toward the go-ahead score. Instead, Cooper jumped in front of a pass to Kameron Johnson. His return to the Bucs’ 44 set up Smack for his bomb to give Green Bay the lead at intermission.

With the ball to start the second half, the Packers got a chance to double up. And they did, with an 80-yard touchdown drive to extend their lead to 17-7.

On the first play, Love threw a wobbly pass over the middle to Redman for a gain of 25. Then, on third-and-1, MarShawn Lloyd sidestepped a tackle for loss for a 5-yard run and a big first down. One play later, Kaleb Johnson rumbled up the middle for 31 yards to the 5. Center Sean Rhyan, starting right guard Travis Glover and Redman had key blocks on the team’s new long run of the year.

Finally, on third-and-2, Love looped one to Tucker Kraft at the pylon. The play was initially ruled as incomplete but coach Matt LaFleur won the challenge. With a 10-point lead, the Packers were in good shape against a rookie quarterback.

Or so it seemed. With Cooper and his backup, Isaiah McDuffie, on the sideline, Daniels drove the Buccaneers to a touchdown. On third-and-3, Daniels broke contain and flipped the ball into the flat to running back Kenneth Gainwell, who was open against Zaire Franklin and scored. Just like that, it was 17-14 with 14:49 to go.

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