By Adam Roberts – 10/19/2020
If you took a bathroom break after the first quarter, you would’ve likely felt the match up between the Green Bay Packers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers was due to be a one-sided affair.
You would have been correct. It just didn’t end up being the one-sided game we expected entering the second quarter.
With 13:15 to go in the second frame, Bucs punter Bradley Pinion booted the ball back to Green Bay after the Packer defense forced another Tampa punt. The Packers on their previous two drives went 54 yards for a field goal and 80 yards for a touchdown, respectively, and chewed up 12 minutes and 5 seconds of total clock. The offense was clicking, the defense was stout, and the opponent looked lost.
Until an Aaron Rodgers pass ended up in the arms of Tampa corner Jamel Dean and took a trip 32 yards the other way.
Prior to that Pick Six, Rodgers had gone 7-11 for 94 yards. Starting on the Pick Six drive, he went 1-5 with two total interceptions, and proceeded to throw for just 66 more yards on the day. On the radio broadcast, Wayne Larivee and Larry McCarren commented often on the play of Tampa’s inside linebacker combo of Lavonte David and Devin White, and for good reason: the duo combined for 18 total tackles, five and a half for loss, and two and a half sacks. They were electric and running straight through an offensive line hurting from an injury to David Bakhtiari. David and White were part of the larger issue of the day: Rodgers was pressured from start to finish, while an immobile, 43-year-old Brady could get cozy in the pocket and take his time finding his target.
INJURIES
As mentioned above, left tackle David Bakhtiari went out with a chest injury in the second half. Head coach Matt LaFleur said after the loss the team doesn’t believe it’s a long-term concern. “I know he’s still being evaluated but we’re hopeful that he will be OK”. Bakhtiari has been a constant presence on Aaron’s blind side since Week 6 of 2017, and while Rick Wagner played fine in his place, Rodgers is probably hoping to have his usual left tackle back in place for the Houston game this week. In addition, safety Darnell Savage suffered a quad injury late in the third quarter and did not return. His status is unknown.