Snaps, Studs and Dud From Packers’ Win Over Buccaneers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers’ victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers wasn’t artistic but it was important. Over the last 10 years, teams that start 2-2 have a 41.0 percent chance of reaching the playoffs while teams that open 1-3 tumble to 14.5 percent.

So, it wasn’t pretty, but the 17-14 victory, which was powered in part by a new offensive line, was pretty important.

Here’s a look at the snaps along with a couple studs and one dud following a 17-14 victory.

Packers Snaps on Offense

The Packers played 60 snaps on offense against the Buccaneers.

Quarterback: Jordan Love played every snap. After taking a beating in the first three games – he had been on the receiving end of more quarterback hits than any player in the league – he was not sacked and hit only twice, according to the official stats.

Running backs: Last week against Atlanta, Kaleb Johnson outsnapped MarShawn Lloyd. Against Tampa Bay, Lloyd played 33 snaps, Johnson played 17 and Chris Brooks played 10. Brooks started and had an explosive run but missed most of the game with an injured ankle.

Johnson broke two tackles on his 31-yard run but fumbled for the second time in his three games. Lloyd caught a career-high five passes, including a 16-yarder that he punctuated with a hurdle, but also fumbled.

“I think a great teacher’s the bench,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “If guys don’t start holding onto the ball, they’re going to be sitting on the bench.”

That’s a great statement and we all know his point. But, from a practical perspective, it would have left the Packers with you or me playing running back.

Receivers: On a sweltering day, Matthew Golden played 53 snaps – by far the most of the group. Christian Watson played 41, followed by 23 for Skyy Moore, 11 for Bo Melton and two for J. Michael Sturdivant. Including the Jets game in which Jayden Reed was injured, it’s clear the Packers are opting for more of a player-for-player replacement in the slot with Moore than a committee approach.

Watson and Golden through three games were on a pace to blow by 3,000 combined receiving yards. The Bucs limited Watson to three catches for 47 yards and Golden to three catches for 21 yards. Golden caught a touchdown pass but had a drop that was oh-so-close to being a fumble. He has a drop in every game, which is stunning considering how well he caught the ball in camp.

Tight ends: All is normal at tight end with Tucker Kraft playing all but five snaps. It was a typical workload from before last year’s ACL tear. Mark Redman’s value as a blocker is evident. That’s why he played a season-high 28 snaps. Josh Whyle, who was banished to special-teams work the past couple games, played 14 snaps, one more than Jonnu Smith.

Kraft had one touchdown catch but should have had two. His first two receptions were vintage run-after-catch plays. He finished with six catches for 42 yards; by our count, 41 yards came after the catch.

“My drop rate right now is terrible,” he said. “I’m on the JUGS. I’m trying to fix it. But I got to continue to press on my ball-catching ability because I can’t do anything with the rock if I don’t get it.”

Redman had a 25-yard catch and Smith had a 19-yard catch. Getting two explosive gains from the backups would be huge going forward.

Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft (85) catches a pass for a touchdown over Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Tykee Smith. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Offensive line: The No. 1 line for this week went the distance. Travis Glover, who hadn’t played in a game since the 2024 playoffs, was the surprise starter at right guard and rewarded the team for its decision. Glover was never in the mix to be the starting right guard – the coaches went from Anthony Belton to Jacob Monk early in training camp and never changed direction – but clearly should have been.

Laken Tomlinson, who was signed last Saturday, deserves credit for being able to play every snap after not being in a training camp.

The line was guilty of four penalties (two by Tomlinson) and five pressures (three by Morgan). The run blocking was hit or miss. Take away the big runs by Johnson and Brooks, the other 17 carries by the backs gained 27 yards.

Packers Snaps on Defense

The Packers played 63 snaps on defense against the Buccaneers.

Defensive tackles: The Packers were shorthanded with Warren Brinson placed on injured reserve and Anthony Campbell out again with an ankle injury. Things only got worse after Devonte Wyatt left the game with an ankle injury.

Fortunately for the Packers, Wyatt returned, so the rest of the unit didn’t melt into a puddle at crunch time. As usual, Karl Brooks led the way with 35 snaps. Javon Hargrave was next with 29, followed by Wyatt with 25, Chris McClellan with 24 and Jonathan Ford with a season-low 13 as the Packers spent most of the game in nickel.

They combined for two solo tackles (one each by Wyatt and McClellan) and seven assisted tackles. Hargrave had the only quarterback hit in by far his best game of the season.

Edges: Lukas Van Ness, as usual, led from a snaps perspective with 46. A week after playing less than backup Dani Dennis-Sutton, Barryn Sorrell was second with 33 snaps. Dennis-Sutton and Brenton Cox played 24 apiece.

Van Ness had three pressures but couldn’t make the play on two potential sacks. Cox went from 0 to 100 in 0.5 seconds when he saw a bad shotgun snap and almost took down Jalon Daniels for a safety.

Linebackers: Zaire Franklin played every snap. He’s going to have to step up big time following Edgerrin Cooper’s Achilles injury. Is he capable? The eight tackles were solid from a box-score perspective.

Cooper dominated in what probably were the final 34 snaps of his season. He led the team with nine tackles and added one sack and one interception. Isaiah McDuffie played 25 snaps and Ty’Ron Hopper played five snaps when McDuffie was being checked with an injury.

Cooper’s injury doesn’t only impact the defense. McDuffie is a core player on special teams, where he is the unit captain. How much can he play on special teams if he’s an every-down player on defense?

Hopper and Nick Niemann played a team-high 16 snaps on special teams apiece, followed by McDuffie with 14.

Cornerbacks: Keisean Nixon played all 63 snaps and Brandon Cisse played 54 before dropping out late to be evaluated for a concussion. Carrington Valentine, not Benjamin St-Juste, was the next man up.

Nixon made one of the big plays of the game when he blew up a receiver screen for a loss of 3 on Tampa Bay’s second-to-last series. It was a relatively easy day, given the quarterback, but Nixon was excellent.

Safeties: Xavier McKinney and Evan Williams went the distance – they’ve played every snap this season – and Javon Bullard played a season-high 60. Including special teams, Williams has played a team-high 305 snaps this season.

Packers Studs vs. Buccaneers: Edgerrin Cooper, Evan Williams

There’s no getting around the enormity of Cooper’s injury. He’s been arguably the team’s best player this season and was on his way to establishing himself as one of the best linebackers in the NFL. In three-and-a-half games, he had three sacks and six tackles for losses – more than he had all of last season.

Cooper had a third-down sack on the first possession and an interception just before halftime. The Packers wouldn’t have beaten the lowly Buccaneers without him; now they’ll have to somehow win the rest of the season without him.

“We’ve been kind of hit with some type of curse, it seems like,” center Sean Rhyan said.

Williams had a huge day, too. Tampa Bay’s second possession of the game crossed midfield when Williams made a spectacular interception on a pass intended for top receiver Emeka Egbuka. And then he played the role of closer with a second-down sack and fourth-down pressure.

“Hell of a game,” fellow safety Xavier McKinney said. “He can be really f***king good.”

Packers Dud vs. Buccaneers: MarShawn Lloyd

A player who’s not “f***king good” is MarShawn Lloyd. There are glimmers. On Green Bay’s opening possession of the second half, which resulted in a touchdown, he turned a tackle for loss into a 5-yard gain on third-and-1. It was a low-key huge play. The hurdle on the 16-yard catch was impressive, as well.

However, he fumbled at the end of the play when he foolishly tried to run over Antoine Winfield. He also had a chance to score on a third-and-goal catch but stepped out of bounds before driving to the pylon.

Lloyd finished the day with seven carries for 13 yards and five catches for 36 yards.

Professor @JacobWestendorf has the grades from the Packers’ win over the Buccaneers. ⬇️https://t.co/P95BgSiQNH
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 5, 2026

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