The Green Bay Packers beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17-14 at Raymond James Stadium. Trey Smack's 58-yard field goal as the first half expired was the margin. Tampa Bay outrushed Green Bay and won the first-down count, but it could not cover that 3-point gap over the final quarter.

How It Happened

Neither team scored in the first quarter. Green Bay broke through at 12:54 of the second when Jordan Love found Matthew Golden for a 2-yard touchdown. Tampa Bay answered at 5:13, with Sean Tucker running in from 2 yards to tie it 7-7.

Smack then made the kick that decided the afternoon. His 58-yard field goal came with no time left in the half and sent Green Bay into the locker room up 10-7.

The Packers stretched the lead early in the third quarter. Love hit Tucker Kraft from 2 yards at 10:32 to make it 17-7.

Tampa Bay pulled within a field goal early in the fourth quarter. Jalon Daniels threw a 10-yard touchdown to Kenny Gainwell at 14:49, making it 17-14. Neither offense scored again over the final quarter.

Key Performers

Jordan Love, GB: 2 TD passes – Matthew Golden 2 YDS, Tucker Kraft 2 YDS
Trey Smack, GB: 58-yard field goal, 2 extra points
Sean Tucker, TB: 2-yard rushing TD
Kenny Gainwell, TB: 10-yard TD reception from Jalon Daniels

The Packers won through the air. They threw for 197 net yards against 134 for Tampa Bay and were not sacked once. Tampa Bay quarterbacks went down 3 times.

Tampa Bay ran the ball better, gaining 141 rushing yards to Green Bay's 86. That edge produced 8 rushing first downs to the Packers' 4. Still, the Buccaneers could not turn it into enough points.

Green Bay survived its own sloppiness. The Packers converted just 2 of 10 third downs and were flagged 10 times for 68 yards. They offset that by going 3-for-3 on fourth down.

Turnovers were even at 2 apiece. Tampa Bay threw 2 interceptions, while Green Bay lost 1 fumble and threw 1 interception.

What It Means

Green Bay is a better team away from home so far. The win moves the Packers to 2-2 overall and 2-1 on the road, against 0-1 at home. Their two wins have both come on the road.

This was not a dominant road performance. The Packers averaged more yards per play, 5.1 to 4.5, but they converted only 2 of 3 red zone trips, while Tampa Bay was perfect on 2 of 2. Smack's long kick covered the difference.

Tampa Bay falls to 0-4 and 0-3 at home. The Buccaneers moved the ball on the ground and finished a field goal short. At this point, every close loss digs the hole deeper.