3 Takeaways from Packers’ Week 3 Win vs. Buccaneers | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

Packers QB Aaron Rodgers (Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Sunday’s win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is further evidence that the Green Bay Packers’ embarrassing Week 1 loss was a fluke.

Green Bay was handled by the rival Minnesota Vikings in the opener. Since then, the Packers have dominated the Chicago Bears and outlasted a very good Buccaneers squad. Things haven’t been perfect, of course, but Green Bay has very much looked like a team that will return to the postseason in 2022.

It was the Packers defense that stood tall on Sunday, holding Tampa to just two touchdowns and stopping a late two-point try that would have sent the game to overtime. Would the Packers like to see more from Aaron Rodgers and the offense? Sure, but a win is a win, and a win over a quality opponent can be a confidence-builder.

Here are our three biggest takeaways from Sunday’s 14-12 win over the Buccaneers.

Aaron Jones (Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Ideally, a Rodgers-led offense will produce more than 14 points in any given contest, and there’s definitely room for improvement offensively. The Packers ranked a solid 12th in yardage this season but only 27th in points scored.

However, this is a unit that lost Davante Adams in an offseason trade and with a new offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich. It’s going to take time for everything to come together, and the offense showed a lot of promise in Week 3.

Don’t let the 14 points fool you. This was a good offensive effort by Green Bay. The Bucs defense is good, really good, and had allowed just 13 points in its first two games combined. In the first half on Sunday, Tampa had few answers for Rodgers and Co.

The Packers relied on the hard running of Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon, some precision passing by Rodgers and scored on their first two possessions. Green Bay appeared headed for a third touchdown in as many drives before Jones fumbled at the goal line.

The Packers racked up 214 yards in the first half and produced enough points to get the win. While Green Bay stalled in the second half and finished with only 315 yards of offense, it held the ball for 33:25 of game clock.

The offense is finding success with a balanced offense, and Rodgers is building chemistry with receivers not named Adams. As the unit continues to build a rhythm, we should see better results on the scoreboard.

This was a game largely won by defense, but it’s one the Packers probably would have lost with the sort of offensive effort we saw in Week 1. The next goal for Green Bay is to sustain success for a full four quarters.

Romeo Doubs (David Berding/Getty Images)

If the Packers are ever going to field to sort of high-powered offense we’ve seen in Green Bay in recent years, Rodgers needs to find a new go-to receiver. Adams isn’t coming back, and while many believed rookie second-round pick Christian Watson would quickly become “the guy,” he has disappointed early.

Watson had just five catches for 43 yards through the first two weeks. He missed Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury.

While Watson hasn’t been the rookie star many had hoped for, fourth-rounder Romeo Doubs has been. The Nevada product came up big during Sunday’s win, catching eight of eight targets for 73 yards and a touchdown.

It’s clear that Doubs is becoming a receiver that Rodgers trusts.

“We called some plays for him and he made some nice catches,” Rodgers said, per Kassidy Hill of Packers News. “The thing about Romeo that gives you confidence is the majority of the time, he catches the ball with his hands.”

Doubs has now caught a team-high 14 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown.

The Packers passing attack is likely to remain a committee affair—seven different players caught balls on Sunday—but Doubs truly has the potential to be Rodgers’ new go-to receiver.

Matt LaFleur (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Since Matt LaFleur became head coach in 2019, Green Bay has won 13 games every season. While the Packers are 2-1, they don’t have the air of a 13-win team just yet.

There are positives to take away from Sunday’s win, to be sure. The offense fared better against Tampa than any team has thus far in 2022. The defense logged three sacks, two turnovers and held Tampa to just 285 yards of offense.

However, the Packers were still very fortunate to escape with a win.

The Buccaneers may well have forced overtime if not for a delay-of-game penalty on their failed two-point conversion attempt. Leonard Fournette appeared headed to the end zone when the play was whistled dead due to the delay.

It’s also worth noting that Tampa was playing without top receivers Mike Evans (suspended), Chris Godwin (hamstring) and Julio Jones (knee). With any of those three in the game, Green Bay’s defensive effort might not have been so impressive. Tom Brady nearly pull the Bucs back without them.

The offense couldn’t find answers for Tampa’s defense in the second half, and the defense was on its heels during the Buccaneers’ final, potentially game-winning drive at the end.

The Packers still need to show a bit more consistency on both sides of the ball if they’re going to continue racking up wins. Still, you can only play the team that shows up on game day, and Green Bay did what it took to put away the Buccaneers on Sunday.