The Bucs turned my prediction on its head this Sunday, absolutely obliterating the Green Bay Packers 38-10.
It was honestly one of the most perfect games of football I’ve ever seen played by the Bucs.
They had two interceptions (one returned for a TD by Jamel Dean), no turnovers, no penalties (I still don’t know how that happened), and TDs from Gronk (first in a Bucs uniform), Tyler Johnson (the first of his career) and Ronald Jones.
The Bucs defense was the story. It forced the two interceptions while racking up five sacks and 13 QB hits. Aaron Rodgers just could never get comfortable after the Packers had a solid start, scoring 10 unanswered points in the first quarter. But then things got a little out of hand and well… the Packers didn’t score for the rest of the game. The league’s second-best offense statistically was limited to 201 yards (it was averaging close to 450 a game) and the two interceptions by Rodgers were his first of the season. Not a great day in the office.
Offensively the Bucs played a great supporting role, running the ball effectively and taking care of business in the red zone, scoring four TDs on all four trips. Gronk was outstanding, with a great TD catch and 78 yards receiving, looking like vintage Gronk, while Ronald Jones ran for 100 yards for the third straight week while reaching the end zone twice. Sure, Brady only had 166 yards passing and two TDs, but he didn’t need to do any more. The Bucs looked like a complete football team, and the fact that they won by this much with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin only combining for sixcatches and 58 yards with no TDs shows you that.
Even the special teams play was good. No egregious errors, and Ryan Succop even hit a 50-yard field goal while making all of his extra points.
It was a good weekend, Tampa. The Rays are headed to the World Series and the Bucs are trending in the right direction at 4-2, with a matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders coming up next Sunday.
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This article appears in Oct 15-21, 2020.