Love's two touchdowns lift Packers past Buccaneers

Jordan Love threw two touchdown passes as the Green Bay Packers beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17-14 Sunday, October 4, using a reversed touchdown ruling early in the third quarter to make the difference at Raymond James Stadium.

A 10-point cushion holds

Love completed 22 of 30 passes for 197 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, repeatedly getting Green Bay to the short field before finishing possessions. His 2-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter broke a scoreless game, and a 58-yard field goal at the end of the half put the Packers ahead 10-7.

The decisive break came after halftime. A 2-yard Love pass was initially ruled incomplete, then reversed into a touchdown, restoring Green Bay's two-score edge at 17-7 with 10:32 left in the third quarter. That margin was vital when Tampa Bay answered rather than folded.

The Buccaneers tied it in the second quarter on a 2-yard rushing touchdown, then climbed back within 17-14 on a 10-yard touchdown pass with 14:49 remaining. Their 13-play, 84-yard series took 6:28 and turned a stalled third quarter into a one-possession finish.

Green Bay's defense finishes it

Tampa Bay had chances after the comeback. Green Bay fumbled at its own 3 after an 11-play, 65-yard march, giving the Buccaneers the ball with 9:06 left, but Tampa Bay lost 3 yards on its ensuing series and punted. The Buccaneers later turned the ball over on downs after reaching their own 53, preserving the 17-14 score.

The final sequence tightened further when Green Bay threw an interception with 4:18 remaining, but Tampa Bay could not convert that possession into points. With 1:34 left, a Daniels interception was reversed to an incompletion on review; Green Bay's win probability nevertheless moved from 86% to 99% on the ruling and the Packers closed it out.

Edgerrin Cooper led the Green Bay defense with nine tackles, a sack and an interception. Daniels completed 19 of 27 for 148 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, while Bucky Irving supplied 61 yards on 16 carries for a Tampa Bay offense that found more room on the ground than through the air.

The numbers behind the finish

EPA measures expected points added by each play. Green Bay's offense was nearly even at -0.02 EPA per play, but it produced a 51% success rate, the share of plays with positive EPA, against Tampa Bay's 47%. The Packers also kept Love from taking a sack, while their defense recorded three sacks and held Tampa Bay to -0.17 EPA per pass play.

Kaleb Johnson paced Green Bay with 42 yards on eight carries, including a 31-yard run that set up the reviewed touchdown. Christian Watson had three catches for 47 yards, while Cade Otton led Tampa Bay with four receptions for 37 yards. The Packers moved to 2-2 and host the Chicago Bears on Sunday, October 11; the Buccaneers fell to 0-4 and visit the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday, October 8.