The Green Bay Packers got shredded by Baker Mayfield, Chris Godwin and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers passing game during Sunday’s disappointing loss at Lambeau Field. The Bucs scored six times and Mayfield threw four touchdown passes as Tampa Bay extended Green Bay’s losing streak to two games.
Despite the defensive struggles, the Packers got standout efforts or plays from three rookies on offense and two pass-rushers on defense.
Here are five standouts from the Packers’ 34-20 loss to the Buccaneers:
The rookie receiver injured his ankle on Monday and got in only two limited practices this week, but he returned Sunday and had a career-best game, catching six of seven targets for a team-high 97 yards. Wicks caught a 22-yard pass on 3rd-and-5 and a 21-yard pass on 3rd-and-8 on the Packers’ touchdown drive in the third quarter,
and one drive later, he had back-to-back, 20-yard and 19-yard catches to set up a field goal. The Packers had a first-and-10 at the Bucs’ 30 after his final grab, a 13-yarder in the fourth quarter, but the drive faltered.
In the first half, the rookie tight end caught four passes for 64 yards, three first downs, and the game-winning touchdown. Kraft had an impressive gain of at least thirty yards and caught at least four passes for the second week in a row. And he scored for the second time in four games. When he plays full-time, the third-round pick only gets better and more efficient. Now, in four of the previous games, Kraft had at least a 20-yard reception or a touchdown.
It’s tough to put any defensive player on this list but Clark at least had important disruptive moments. On the first drive, Clark sacked Baker Mayfield in the red zone to force a field goal. On the Bucs’ only three-and-out, Clark deflected Mayfield’s third-down pass. His sack near midfield on the Bucs’ second drive of the second half should
may have ended the drive, but Mayfield scored a first down with a 21-yard pass to Chris Godwin. Would Sunday’s devastation have been even worse if Clark hadn’t made a few clutch plays?
Despite suffering an ankle injury, Reed participated in several crucial plays. On the Packers’ opening drive, he hauled in a 20-yard pass, and in the third quarter, he made an amazing toe-tap catch on Jordan Love’s 17-yard touchdown pass. After six catches and eight targets, the youngster finished with 52 receiving yards and a touchdown. After 14 games as a rookie, his touchdown was his eighth touchdown overall and his sixth as a receiver.
OLB Kingsley Enagbare
Enagbare only managed two tackles in total, but he made the most of his one huge play. Before recovering the fumble inside the 10-yard line, the second-year edge rusher won around the corner, leaped into Baker Mayfield at the last second, and knocked the ball away in the first half. The key defensive play of the game for the Packers was the takeaway. After the recovery, Jordan Love found Tucker Kraft for a touchdown two plays later. The Packers’ earlier drive’s failure on fourth down was undone by Enagbare’s turnover play.
