Buccaneers vs. Green Bay Packers

LOST - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 14 Green Bay Packers 17

WEEK 4 RECAP: JALON DANIELS LEADS A FOURTH-QUARTER RALLY, BUT GREEN BAY STOPS THE FINAL DRIVE TO KEEP TAMPA BAY WINLESS.

Tampa Bay's first win remained just beyond reach on October 4, 2026. Jalon Daniels brought the Buccaneers within three points in his first NFL start, and the defense produced two fourth-quarter takeaways to keep the opportunity alive. Green Bay nevertheless protected its lead with pressure on the final possession, escaping Raymond James Stadium with a 17-14 victory. The Packers evened their record at 2-2, while the Buccaneers finished their three-game homestand at 0-4.

Starting for the injured Baker Mayfield, Daniels became the first undrafted rookie quarterback to start a game for Tampa Bay. He completed 19 of 27 passes for 148 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, and added 55 rushing yards. Bucky Irving supplied 61 yards on 16 carries as the Bucs gained 141 yards on the ground. The support helped Daniels move the offense, but Green Bay turned his two first-half interceptions into 10 points.

The opening quarter ended without a score, though Green Bay had already begun the possession that would break the tie. Evan Williams intercepted Daniels at the Packers' 32, and Chris Brooks soon broke a 27-yard run into Tampa Bay territory. The Bucs made Green Bay work for every subsequent first down. Jordan Love found Tucker Kraft for 10 yards on fourth-and-one, and Kraft later took a direct snap for another fourth-down conversion to keep the drive moving.

That possession carried into the second quarter and survived more resistance near the goal line. A defensive pass-interference penalty gave Green Bay a fresh set of downs, but Elijah Roberts and Josiah Trotter stopped Brooks for a loss, and Jacob Parrish dropped MarShawn Lloyd on the next snap. The Packers stayed aggressive on fourth-and-goal from the two. Love completed the touchdown pass to Matthew Golden with 12:54 remaining, ending a 16-play, 68-yard march that consumed 9:16 and required three fourth-down conversions.

Tampa Bay answered midway through the quarter. Starting at their own 46, the Bucs gained 21 yards on a third-down completion to Ted Hurst III. Sean Tucker then supplied the crucial fourth-and-one conversion, running eight yards to the Green Bay 11. Daniels carried the ball nine yards on the next play, and Tucker finished from the two with 5:13 left. Chase McLaughlin's extra point tied the score at 7-7 after a nine-play, 54-yard drive.

Replay erased two apparent Tampa Bay takeaways during the first half, ruling passes to Bo Melton and Golden incomplete rather than catches followed by fumbles. The turnover that did shape the closing seconds belonged to Green Bay. With Tampa Bay at the Packers' 41, Edgerrin Cooper intercepted a pass intended for Kameron Johnson and returned it 18 yards to the Bucs' 44. Love completed two short passes, and Trey Smack struck a 58-yard field goal as the half expired, giving Green Bay a 10-7 lead.

The Packers extended that advantage on the opening possession of the third quarter. Love connected with Mark Redman for 25 yards, and Kaleb Johnson's 31-yard run carried Green Bay to the Tampa Bay five. Two plays later, Kraft's catch near the right side of the end zone was initially ruled incomplete. Green Bay challenged successfully, securing a two-yard touchdown and a 17-7 lead with 10:32 left. The eight-play, 80-yard drive gave the visitors points on consecutive possessions surrounding halftime.

Daniels led the response after Tampa Bay's next possession ended in a punt. Beginning at their own 16 with 6:17 remaining in the third quarter, the Bucs advanced behind a 13-yard Chris Godwin reception, Daniels' 21-yard scramble on third-and-two, and a 10-yard Tez Johnson run. A 12-yard completion to Kenny Gainwell helped overcome a penalty for too many offensive players. Early in the fourth quarter, Daniels found Gainwell again for a 10-yard touchdown. McLaughlin's kick made it 17-14 with 14:49 to play, completing a 12-play, 84-yard drive.

Green Bay twice threatened to extend the lead, and twice Tampa Bay took the ball away. Antoine Winfield Jr. first forced a Lloyd fumble that rolled out of bounds, allowing the Packers to retain possession. Later in that drive, Tykee Smith knocked the ball loose from Kaleb Johnson at the Tampa Bay three, and Zyon McCollum recovered at the four with 9:06 left. The Bucs gained one first down, but an aborted snap eventually left them at their own one and forced another punt.

Parrish supplied the second opportunity, intercepting Love at the Tampa Bay seven and returning the ball eight yards to start a new possession with 4:18 remaining. Irving opened the drive with consecutive seven-yard runs. Daniels then found Godwin for six yards and Cade Otton for a five-yard third-down conversion. Otton's next catch gained 13 yards and moved Tampa Bay to the Green Bay 46, putting the Bucs in position to challenge for the tying or winning points.

Tampa Bay's final four snaps settled the game. After an incompletion, Williams sacked Daniels for six yards. A five-yard completion to Emeka Egbuka left fourth-and-11 at the Packers' 47. Williams again reached Daniels, disrupting the attempt toward Hurst. Keisean Nixon's apparent interception was overturned on review, but the resulting incompletion still gave Green Bay possession on downs with 1:25 remaining. Love knelt out the clock to preserve the three-point margin.

The Bucs finished with 19 first downs to Green Bay's 15, but trailed 283-275 in total net yards. Tampa Bay converted five of 12 third downs; the Packers converted only two of 10, then made all three fourth-down attempts. Love completed 22 of 30 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns without being sacked. Godwin led Tampa Bay with six receptions, and Otton led the team with 37 receiving yards. The defense's late takeaways kept the game within reach, but neither produced points, leaving another close finish without a Buccaneers victory.

Game facts: official NFL gamebook. Additional reporting: Buccaneers postgame report.

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View the official Packers at Buccaneers GAMEBOOK and complete play-by-play

GAMEDAY BRIEF

• GAME: 2026 NFL regular season - Week 4, Green Bay Packers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
• DATE: Sunday, October 4, 2026.
• VENUE: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida - natural grass, open stadium.
• KICKOFF: 1:02 p.m. EDT (official gamebook start time; scheduled for 1:00 p.m.).
• ATTENDANCE: 61,467. GAME DURATION: 2 hours, 56 minutes.
• WEATHER: Cloudy, 86°F; humidity 75%; wind southeast at 3 mph.
• COACHES: Tampa Bay - Todd Bowles; Green Bay - Matt LaFleur.
• COIN TOSS: Green Bay won and deferred; Tampa Bay received, and Green Bay defended the north goal. Green Bay received the second-half kickoff.
• RECORDS AFTER THE GAME: Tampa Bay 0-4; Green Bay 2-2.
• BUCS DEFENSIVE HIGHLIGHTS: Tykee Smith forced a fumble recovered by Zyon McCollum, and Jacob Parrish intercepted Jordan Love in the fourth quarter.
• ROOKIE QUARTERBACK: Jalon Daniels made his first NFL start, throwing for 148 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 55 yards.

OFFICIALS

• REFEREE: Alex Kemp (#55)
• UMPIRE: Brandon Ellison (#128)
• DOWN JUDGE: Mike Carr (#63)
• LINE JUDGE: Rusty Baynes (#59)
• FIELD JUDGE: Sean Petty (#28)
• SIDE JUDGE: Jim Quirk (#5)
• BACK JUDGE: Scott Helverson (#93)
• REPLAY OFFICIAL: Julie Johnson

SCORING

Scoring times show the clock after the score, as recorded in the gamebook scoring summary. Play-by-play entries below use the clock at the start of the play. Both teams made both of their extra points. Neither team attempted a two-point conversion.

TEAM STATISTICS

Net passing yards deduct sack losses from gross quarterback yardage. Turnovers count interceptions thrown and fumbles lost. Source: NFL gamebook, final team and individual statistics.

STARTING LINEUPS

STARTERS - OFFENSE

STARTERS - DEFENSE

Positions, starting designations and participation follow the official gamebook. Full names follow the official game-day roster card.

SUBSTITUTIONS

• BUCCANEERS: #4 Chase McLaughlin, #5 Ifeatu Melifonwu, #8 SirVocea Dennis, #9 Riley Dixon, #14 Chris Godwin Jr., #15 Tez Johnson, #19 Kameron Johnson, #22 Keionte Scott, #24 Ayden Garnes, #29 Miles Killebrew, #38 Kevin Knowles, #44 Sean Tucker, #46 Caden Fordham, #51 David Walker, #52 Christian Rozeboom, #56 Rakeem Nuñez-Roches, #70 Ben Chukwuma, #77 Justin Skule, #84 Bauer Sharp, #86 Evan Deckers, #87 Payne Durham, #92 Elijah Simmons, #95 Elijah Roberts, #98 Anthony Nelson.
• PACKERS: #0 Matthew Golden, #16 Bo Melton, #18 Jonnu Smith, #19 Daniel Whelan, #21 Benjamin St-Juste, #23 Skyy Moore, #24 Carrington Valentine, #26 Kaleb Johnson, #27 Kitan Oladapo, #28 Trey Smack, #31 Nick Niemann, #32 MarShawn Lloyd, #36 Kamal Hadden, #42 Matt Orzech, #51 Dani Dennis-Sutton, #55 Chris McClellan, #57 Brenton Cox Jr., #58 Isaiah McDuffie, #59 Ty'Ron Hopper, #73 John Williams, #87 J. Michael Sturdivant, #96 Jonathan Ford, #98 Javon Hargrave.

DID NOT PLAY

• BUCCANEERS: #16 Easton Stick (QB), #65 Dan Feeney (G).
• PACKERS: #6 Tyrod Taylor (QB), #52 Jager Burton (C/G), #67 Donovan Jennings (G/T).

INACTIVE

• BUCCANEERS: #3 Rueben Bain Jr. (OLB), #6 Baker Mayfield (QB), #21 Benjamin Morrison (CB), #41 Ko Kieft (TE), #72 Luke Haggard (G), #75 Billy Schrauth (G), #90 DeMonte Capehart (DL).
• PACKERS: #62 Jacob Monk (C/G), #65 Aaron Banks (G), #70 Kevin Zeitler (G), #93 Anthony Campbell (DT).

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING

PASSING

RECEIVING

INTERCEPTIONS

Jacob Parrish returned his interception 8 yards for Tampa Bay. Edgerrin Cooper returned his interception 18 yards for Green Bay; Evan Williams had no return yardage. A potential third Green Bay interception on the final Tampa Bay possession was overturned on review and ruled incomplete.

KICKOFF RETURNS

Tampa Bay had no kickoff returns; all three Green Bay kickoffs were touchbacks.

PUNT RETURNS

• BUCCANEERS: Tez Johnson - 1 return, 13 yards, 13.0 average, long of 13; 1 fair catch. One other punt was downed and one went out of bounds.
• PACKERS: Skyy Moore - 2 returns, 19 yards, 9.5 average, long of 11; 2 fair catches.

SACKS

Green Bay recorded three sacks for 14 yards: Edgerrin Cooper (0 yards), Xavier McKinney (8 yards) and Evan Williams (6 yards). Tampa Bay did not record a sack.

KICKING

PUNTING

FUMBLES

• BUCCANEERS: Graham Barton was charged with one fumble on an aborted snap. Jalon Daniels recovered it; the play lost 11 yards, but Tampa Bay retained possession.
• PACKERS: Kaleb Johnson fumbled once and lost it; Tykee Smith forced the fumble and Zyon McCollum recovered for Tampa Bay. MarShawn Lloyd fumbled once, forced by Antoine Winfield Jr., but the ball went out of bounds and Green Bay retained possession.

DEFENSIVE LEADERS

Defensive tackle totals above cover regular defensive plays. Complete defensive and special-teams credits appear in the official NFL gamebook; full names were checked against the official game-day roster card.

PLAY-BY-PLAY

All four quarters are recorded below in a compact factual play log. TB = Tampa Bay; GB = Green Bay. Field position identifies the line of scrimmage before the play; the clock shows time remaining at the start of the action. Replay and injury notes use the associated play or nearest available gamebook clock. Nullified plays, penalties, replay decisions and injuries are identified in the description.

Open the NFL GAMEBOOK for the official play descriptions, drive charts and complete defensive statistics

First quarter  |  Second quarter  |  Third quarter  |  Fourth quarter

FIRST QUARTER

SECOND QUARTER

THIRD QUARTER

FOURTH QUARTER

2026 REGULAR SEASON - WEEK 4 FINAL
BUCCANEERS 14 - PACKERS 17
TAMPA BAY RECORD: 0-4

Sources: NFL Packers at Buccaneers gamebook, October 4, 2026 (statistics, lineups, officials and underlying play-by-play facts); official game-day roster card; Buccaneers postgame report. This page uses an original recap and concise factual play summaries. For Captain Booty's account, visit the Pirate reports above.