As significant as it was for the Bucs to beat the Panthers and Falcons in back-to-back weeks to take over first place in the NFC South, staying on top of the division with a win over the Packers at Lambeau Field was always going to be a tougher challenge. But thanks to a four-touchdown day from Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay passed that challenge, beating Green Bay 34-20 to reach .500. The victory gave the Bucs their first three-game winning streak since the end of the 2021 season.

The Bucs offense opened the game with what looked like a promising drive, but in all-too-familiar fashion, stalled out in the red zone. Baker Mayfield took a sack on 3rd & 6 from the 15-yard line, forcing Tampa Bay to settle for a 39-yard Chase McLaughlin field goal. Still, the visitors led 3-0 early.

That lead didn’t last long. The Packers drove right down the field and despite Jordan Love missing on a fourth-down throw from the 4-yard line, he would soon get a do-over. That’s because, two plays into the Bucs’ ensuing possession, Kingsley Enagbare got to Mayfield for a sack-fumble.

Two plays after that, Love threw a five-yard touchdown on a screen pass to rookie tight end Tucker Kraft. That made it a 7-3 lead for Green Bay deep into the first quarter.

Bucs WR Chris Godwin – Photo by: USA Today

The Bucs did respond well, though, working their way down the field on their next possession. A 14-yard Mike Evans catch and a 25-yard pickup by Godwin got things going and then, on 3rd & 6 from the Packers’ 19, Tampa Bay regained the lead. Mayfield found Evans for a 19-yard touchdown, making it a 10-7 advantage with 12:21 left in the first half.

Todd Bowles’ defense couldn’t make that lead last long, with another coverage bust (that has been exposed time and again) leading to a 36-yard gain for Kraft. Green Bay’s drive eventually stalled, but Anders Carlson nailed a 36-yard field goal to tie the game at 10 halfway through the quarter.

After the two sides traded punts — including a 65-yarder to the Packers’ 4-yard line by Jake Camarda — the Bucs had a chance to run a two-minute drill to take a lead into the locker room. It started slow, but after a 16-yard pass from Mayfield to David Moore and a 25-yarder to Godwin, Tampa Bay appeared to be in good shape.

But from there, the next two plays saw Mayfield take a sack and Luke Goedeke get flagged for a hold, stunting the drive. But a 24-yard catch by Godwin — which took him over 100 yards in the first half — at least gave the Bucs a shot at three points. McLaughlin came on to nail a 46-yarder, which gave them a 13-10 lead at the end of the first 30 minutes.

Outside of the early fumble, Mayfield was great in the first half, completing 12 of his 14 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown. Godwin, who had just one 100-yard game on the year coming into Sunday, had seven catches for 108 yards in the first half alone.

Bucs RB Rachaad White – Photo by: USA Today

Out of halftime, the Packers went three-and-out and opened the door for the Bucs to extend their lead. They took that opening, though they did so while making things difficult on themselves. The offense was constantly behind the sticks, but an 18-yard pass from Mayfield to Evans on 3rd & 6 kept the drive alive at one point before a 15-yard screen pass to Godwin on 3rd & 12 extended the drive again.

Two plays later, Mayfield found an open Rachaad White, who went 26 yards for a touchdown to put the Bucs up 20-10 early in the third quarter.

But once again, Bowles’ defense didn’t hold up its end of things and immediately let the Packers cut that 10-point deficit to three. An 11-play, 75-yard drive that took 6:37 featured two 3rd-&-8 conversions and then ended on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Love to Jayden Reed on 3rd & 14.

With the defense unable to keep the pressure on Green Bay, Mayfield and the offense took it upon themselves. A 22-yard catch by Cade Otton got things going, then Godwin came through with a 21-yard catch to erase a sack of Mayfield. Evans later drew a holding call, then Otton picked up 22 more yards to the 2-yard line. Two plays later, Mayfield found Ko Kieft for a touchdown to get the lead back to 10 at 27-17.

Even still, Bowles’ defense still couldn’t get a stop. The Bucs couldn’t put the game away because of it, as the Packers drove 60 yards in 10 plays for a Carlson field goal to get back within a score with more than 10 minutes left. That put the burden back on the Tampa Bay offense to ice the game. Yet it was a burden that Mayfield and Co. were happy to take.

After one third-down conversion, the Bucs soon faced another third down. This time, Mayfield found David Moore, who took it the rest of the way for a 52-yard touchdown to put the visitors in white and pewter up by 14 with 6:30 to go.

Green Bay took what the Tampa Bay defense gave up for much of the ensuing possession until three straight Love incompletions set up 4th & 10. On that fourth down, Lavonte David and Shaq Barrett got to love for a sack-fumble that was recovered by Logan Hall. From there, the Bucs put the finishing touches on a 34-20 win — their third straight.

Baker Mayfield was the story of the day for the Bucs, as he overcame an early fumble to finish 22-of-28 for 381 yards and four touchdowns — his best game in a Tampa Bay uniform. In fact, Mayfield became the first visiting quarterback ever to post a perfect passer rating (158.3) at Lambeau Field (min. five attempts).

Bucs WR Chris Godwin – Photo by: USA Today

His top receiver on the day was Chris Godwin, who had his biggest game of the season. He caught 10 of his 12 targets for 155 yards. Meanwhile, Mike Evans caught four passes for 57 yards and a touchdown while David Moore later chipped in with a 52-yard touchdown catch of his own. Rachaad White did it all once again, going over 100 total yards with 89 rushing and 50 receiving, including a 26-yard touchdown catch.

Antoine Winfield Jr. and Lavonte David unsurprisingly led the way for the Tampa Bay defense. Winfield was credited with his fifth forced fumble of the year while leading the team in tackles with 10 (eight solo). David had the split-sack with Shaq Barrett at the end of the game to bring his line for the day to nine tackles (seven solo), a half-sack and two tackles for loss.

Tampa Bay outscored Green Bay 21-10 in the second half, scoring touchdowns on its first three possessions of the second half before running out the clock on the fourth.

The Bucs (7-7) will now return home in search of a fourth straight win, hosting the Jaguars (8-5) at Raymond James Stadium on Christmas Eve. Kickoff is set for 4:05 p.m.