Youtube Instagram Facebook-f

Packers Survive the Mess, Spoil Daniels’ First Start in 17-14 Escape

The Green Bay Packers leaned on timely defense and just enough offense to edge the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17-14 on October 4, 2026, at Raymond James Stadium, surviving a late Tampa Bay push to secure the win.

Quarter-by-Quarter

Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
GB 0 10 7 0 17
TB 0 7 0 7 14

Green Bay desperately needed something steady after a 1-2 start, and Jordan Love gave them just enough. Love finished 22-of-30 for 197 yards and two touchdowns, finding Matthew Golden and Tucker Kraft from two yards out, while rookie kicker Trey Smack drilled a 58-yarder at the halftime gun to give Green Bay a 10-7 lead. Tampa Bay was without Baker Mayfield, whose dislocated right thumb ended a 57-game starting streak, leaving undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels to make his first NFL start. A Kansas Jayhawk has officially started an NFL game before Justin Herbert has won a playoff game. Daniels brought some juice with 55 rushing yards and later hit Kenny Gainwell for a fourth-quarter touchdown, but his two interceptions were costly — Edgerrin Cooper’s pick before halftime directly set up Smack’s bomb.

And somehow, Tampa still had every chance to steal it. The Bucs forced a Kaleb Johnson fumble at their own 4, then Jacob Parrish picked Love off inside the red zone with under five minutes left — and Tampa came away with nothing both times. Green Bay’s defense slammed the door when Evan Williams came screaming off the edge on fourth-and-11 and forced Daniels into the game-ending incompletion. Williams and Cooper each finished with an interception and a sack, Xavier McKinney added another sack, and Green Bay went 3-for-3 on fourth down despite 10 penalties and two turnovers. It wasn’t pretty, but Green Bay made the handful of plays Tampa couldn’t. The Packers escaped 17-14, while the Bucs fell to 0-4 after turning a surprisingly competitive first start from Daniels into another game they’ll feel like they let get away.

Postgame Statistical Breakdown

Team Stats

Stat Green Bay Packers Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Final Score 17 14
Total Offensive Yards 283 275
Passing Yards 197 134
Rushing Yards 86 141
Total Plays 55 61
Yards Per Play 5.1 4.5
First Downs 15 19
Third Downs 2-10 5-12
Third-Down % 20.0% 41.7%
Fourth Downs 3-3 2-3
Passing TDs 2 1
Rushing TDs 0 1
Total Offensive TDs 2 2
Turnovers 2 2
Interceptions Thrown 1 2
Fumbles Lost 1 0
Sacks Allowed 0 3
Penalties 10 4
Penalty Yards 68 17
Time of Possession 30:10 29:50

Passing

Green Bay Packers

  1. Jordan Love — 22/30, 73.3%, 197 YDS, 2 TD, 1 INT, 6.6 YPA, 0 SACK, 98.9 RTG

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  1. Jalon Daniels — 19/27, 70.4%, 148 YDS, 1 TD, 2 INT, 5.5 YPA, 3 SACK, 65.0 RTG

Rushing

Green Bay Packers

  1. Kaleb Johnson — 8 CAR, 42 YDS, 5.3 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 31, 1 FUM
  2. Chris Brooks — 4 CAR, 30 YDS, 7.5 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 27

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  1. Bucky Irving — 16 CAR, 61 YDS, 3.8 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 7
  2. Jalon Daniels — 8 CAR, 55 YDS, 6.9 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 21, 0 FUM

Receiving

Green Bay Packers

  1. Christian Watson — 3 REC, 3 TGT, 47 YDS, 15.7 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 18
  2. Tucker Kraft — 6 REC, 7 TGT, 42 YDS, 7.0 AVG, 1 TD, LONG 17
  3. MarShawn Lloyd — 5 REC, 5 TGT, 36 YDS, 7.2 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 16
  4. Mark Redman — 2 REC, 2 TGT, 29 YDS, 14.5 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 25
  5. Matthew Golden — 3 REC, 7 TGT, 21 YDS, 7.0 AVG, 1 TD, LONG 13

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  1. Cade Otton — 4 REC, 6 TGT, 37 YDS, 9.3 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 13
  2. Chris Godwin Jr. — 6 REC, 7 TGT, 31 YDS, 5.2 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 13
  3. Ted Hurst III — 2 REC, 3 TGT, 25 YDS, 12.5 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 21
  4. Kenny Gainwell — 2 REC, 2 TGT, 22 YDS, 11.0 AVG, 1 TD, LONG 12
  5. Tez Johnson — 2 REC, 2 TGT, 17 YDS, 8.5 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 15

Scoring Plays

Qtr Clock Team Play Score
Q2 12:54 Green Bay Packers Matthew Golden 2-yard pass from Jordan Love (Trey Smack kick) GB 7, TB 0
Q2 5:13 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sean Tucker 2-yard run (Chase McLaughlin kick) GB 7, TB 7
Q2 0:00 Green Bay Packers Trey Smack 58-yard field goal GB 10, TB 7
Q3 10:32 Green Bay Packers Tucker Kraft 2-yard pass from Jordan Love (Trey Smack kick) GB 17, TB 7
Q4 14:49 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Kenny Gainwell 10-yard pass from Jalon Daniels (Chase McLaughlin kick) GB 17, TB 14

Defense

Green Bay Packers

  1. Evan Williams — 7 TOT, 3 SOLO, 1 TFL, 1 SACK, 2 QBH, 1 INT, 2 PD
  2. Edgerrin Cooper — 9 TOT, 4 SOLO, 1 SACK, 1 QBH, 1 INT, 18 INT YDS, 1 PD
  3. Xavier McKinney — 5 TOT, 2 SOLO, 1 TFL, 1 SACK, 1 QBH
  4. Keisean Nixon — 7 TOT, 4 SOLO, 1 TFL, 2 PD
  5. Brenton Cox Jr. — 3 TOT, 1 SOLO, 1 TFL, 2 QBH
  6. Zaire Franklin — 8 TOT, 3 SOLO
  7. Javon Bullard — 8 TOT, 1 SOLO
  8. Brandon Cisse — 6 TOT, 5 SOLO
  9. Lukas Van Ness — 4 TOT, 2 SOLO
  10. Isaiah McDuffie — 4 TOT, 1 SOLO

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  1. Jacob Parrish — 5 TOT, 5 SOLO, 1 TFL, 1 INT, 8 INT YDS, 2 PD
  2. Josiah Trotter — 9 TOT, 7 SOLO
  3. Tykee Smith — 6 TOT, 4 SOLO, 1 QBH
  4. Zyon McCollum — 3 TOT, 3 SOLO, 1 FR
  5. Antoine Winfield Jr. — 6 TOT, 5 SOLO
  6. Vita Vea — 2 TOT, 1 QBH
  7. Christian Rozeboom — 1 TOT, 1 SOLO, 1 TFL
  8. Elijah Roberts — 1 TOT, 1 SOLO, 1 TFL
  9. Keionte Scott — 3 TOT, 3 SOLO
  10. Rakeem Nunez-Roches — 1 TOT, 1 SOLO, 1 TFL

Kick Returns

Green Bay Packers

  1. Skyy Moore — 2 KR, 52 YDS, 26.0 AVG, LONG 28, 0 TD

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Not available.

Punt Returns

Green Bay Packers

  1. Skyy Moore — 2 PR, 19 YDS, 9.5 AVG, LONG 11, 0 TD

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  1. Tez Johnson — 1 PR, 13 YDS, 13.0 AVG, LONG 13, 0 TD
Share the Post:

Related Posts