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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost in overtime against the Green Bay Packers, 26-20. The Packers managed their victory with a touchdown on the first drive of overtime.
For the first time in four weeks, the Bucs had Jameis Winston under center again, while they were facing backup quarterback Brett Hundley, who hadn’t exactly shone for the Packers. But the Bucs were also hurt, with eight starters out due to injury.
With Jameis Winston back in the fold, the Bucs finally found their running game again. No Doug Martin, no problem: Peyton Barber can only run in a straight line, but that seems to fit this offensive line better than Doug Martin trying to make defenders miss. Barber racked up 102 yards on 23 carries.
As for Winston, he had a characteristically up-and-down game: threw some ill-advised balls, gave the ball to the opposition while being sacked, left the ball on the ground a few times, and marched the Bucs down the field repeatedly, finding Cameron Brate in the endzone twice. Winston’s always going to be too loose with the ball, but he also has the ability to make up for it with some spectacular plays.
The biggest problem on offense was an injury-marred offensive line. With Ali Marpet, Demar Dotson and Joe Hawley out, the offense struggled to get anything done consistently. Meanwhile, the Bucs defense was inconsistent: a few big plays, but a few too many drives where they allowed Brett Hundley to just march down the field.
The result was a very close game, with the Bucs taking the lead late in the fourth quarter. That three-point margin turned into a no-point margin with two minutes to go, though, and when the Bucs needed it most, their offensive line collapsed and couldn’t create any space to move the ball—which, after a couple of outstanding Gerald McCoy plays on defense, meant overtime.
That defense collapsed in overtime, though, with the Packers running down the field on play after play after play. Aaron Jones capped a day on which the Packers ran for over 200 yards with a 20-yard touchdown run to give them the win, with the Bucs not even touching the ball in overtime.