When the 2026 NFL schedule dropped in May, a Week 4 matchup between the Bucs and Packers at Raymond James Stadium felt like it could be a big early-season game for the NFC playoff picture.

Fast forward to gameday itself? It was the struggling 1-2 Packers and their sieve of an offensive line visiting the directionless 0-3 Bucs, who were without starting quarterback – and heartbeat of the team – Baker Mayfield. In came undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels, who was in the unenviable spot of trying to steer Tampa Bay’s offense to a modicum of success under Zac Robinson and help the team to its first win of the season.

What ensued was an ugly, ugly first half that ended with Green Bay leading 10-7 and a second half that saw the Packers get some separation and the Bucs fight back only to fall short. In the end, Matt LeFleur’s team came away with a 17-14 victory to even their record at 2-2 on the year. The Bucs’ ship continues to sink, as they’re now 0-4 and have lost 11 of their last 13 games dating back to last year. Nine of those losses have come by one possession.

Here’s a full recap of everything that went down Sunday afternoon at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa:

Packers 17, Bucs 14

Jalon Daniels and the Bucs offense went three-and-out very quickly to open the game, and after just a 38-yard punt by Riley Dixon, the Packers offense went to work right away. First, it was a 17-yard catch and run by Tucker Kraft, then a 6-yard pass from Jordan Love to Matthew Golden got Green Bay into Tampa Bay territory.

But on an eventual 3rd & 3, Bo Melton dropped a deep pass from Love, which forced Green Bay into a punt.

Bucs QB Jalon Daniels – Photo by: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The next Bucs drive began with Daniels’ first NFL completion, a 13-yard pass to Cade Otton. A couple of runs by Irving and a couple of scrambles by Daniels got the ball into Green Bay territory, but then Daniels made a bad decision in trying to force the ball to Emeka Egbuka. Evan Williams was there near the sideline for an interception, giving the Packers the game’s first takeaway.

Green Bay got another chunk play early on its next drive, with Chris Brooks breaking free for a 27-yard run. An eventual fourth-down conversion got the visitors into the red zone, then another on a Kraft sneak up the middle brought it to 1st & Goal. One play later, the first quarter came to an end at 0-0, though the Packers were threatening.

It took until a couple of minutes into the second quarter, but on an eventual 4th & Goal, Green Bay struck first with a 2-yard touchdown pass from Love to Golden. The PAT made it 7-0 at the 12:54 mark and capped a 16-play, 68-yard drive that took 9:16.

An Otton drop on second down of Tampa Bay’s next possession not only cost the offense a first down and a big play to get the drive going, but it also led to a three-and-out. That meant it was time for the Buccaneer defense to come back onto the field, fresh off allowing a drive of nearly 10 minutes and only getting a break of 1:14.

The Packers went three-and-out, though, and after only a 36-yard punt, Daniels and the offense took over at their own 46. The Bucs’ first third-down conversion of the day came on a 21-yard pass from Daniels to Ted Hurst, and then after failing on 3rd & 1 at the 19 a few plays later, Sean Tucker pushed his way up the middle for eight yards and a big conversion.

Then, after Daniels got down to the 2-yard line on a designed run, Tucker found the end zone. With the PAT, Tampa Bay tied the game up at 7-7 with 5:13 left in the first half.

Bucs RB Sean Tucker – Photo by: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

A holding penalty on first down set the Packers’ next drive back behind the chains, and even after getting to third down and manageable, a Golden drop forced another punt.

Tampa Bay’s offense took over from its 16 after the kick and got going with a completion to Chris Godwin Jr., a 15-yard pass to Tez Johnson and a pass interference penalty on Green Bay. But after converting a fourth down near midfield as the clock ticked to a minute, Daniels threw his second interception of the day.

Edgerrin Cooper’s return to the Bucs’ 44 gave the Packers a late scoring chance just before halftime, and while they got only a few yards over the next 32 seconds, a 58-yard field goal by Trey Smack made it 10-7 Packers going into the break.

At halftime, the Bucs were outgaining the Packers 141-116 and had 10 first downs to the opposition’s six. But Green Bay’s 3-of-3 mark on fourth downs and 2-0 advantage in the turnover department was the difference through 30 minutes.

Out of the locker room, the Packers went right down the field on the Bucs defense. Love finished an eight-play, 80-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Tucker Kraft and not long after it looked like the “home” team might be in position to take a lead before halftime, the visitors were up 10.

Packers TE Tucker Kraft – Photo by: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Daniels and the offense soon went three-and-out, so halfway through the third quarter, Green Bay had the ball back already up two possessions and looking to put the game out of reach. A three-and-out kept Love and Co. from doing so, and it left the door open just enough for a some level of intrigue in the game.

That intrigue was ramped up with the Bucs’ next offensive possession, with Godwin catching a 13-yard pass, Daniels converting a third down with a 21-yard run up the middle, Johnson getting 10 more yards and Kenny Gainwell picking up another 12 deep into the red zone. The third quarter came to an end with Tampa Bay trailing 17-7, but the fourth would open with a 2nd & 7 at the Green Bay 10.

Two plays into the fourth, the Bucs were back within a score as Daniels scrambled to his left and found Gainwell for a 10-yard touchdown. With the PAT, the Packers’ lead was down to 17-14.

Bucs RB Kenny Gainwell – Photo by: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Green Bay’s offense put a dent into the clock in response, eating up more than five minutes. To make matters worse, the drive threatened to put the visitors back up by two scores. But just as it looked like the deficit was destined to grow again for the Bucs, A’Shawn Robinson forced a Kaleb Johnson fumble inside the 5-yard line, with Zyon McCollum falling on it for the recovery.

Unfortunately for Tampa Bay, the offense couldn’t get out of the shadow of its own end zone, leaving Dixon to punt from just in front of the goal post. His kick went 43 yards and was returned for 11, setting Green Bay’s offense up at the Buccaneer 33 with 4:59 to go, already up three.

But the Tampa Bay defense would very quickly give Daniels and the offense another chance, as Jacob Parrish jumped a Love pass for his first interception of the season.

Going from their 15, the Bucs got moving with a couple of 7-yard runs by Irving, then moved the chains again with passes to Godwin and Otton. On the other side of the two-minute warning, a 14-yard pass from Daniels to Otton got the ball into Packers territory, only for a second-down sack to push things back to a 3rd & 16.

On an ensuing 4th & 11, Todd Bowles had to decide whether to send Chase McLaughlin out for a potential game-tying 65-yard field goal or keep the offense on the field. He chose the latter, and yet another free rusher came right through on Daniels to force an incompletion. With that, the Bucs lost 17-14 and dropped to 0-4 on the year.

In his first career start, Jalon Daniels finished 19-of-27 for 148 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. He ran for 55 yards on eight carries, too. Bucky Irving was the team’s leading rusher, carrying the ball 16 times for 61 yards. Cade Otton finished as the Bucs’ leading receiver with four catches on six targets for just 37 yards.

Despite the Packers’ offensive line problems, the Bucs defense did little to affect Jordan Love, hitting him just twice on the afternoon. Green Bay, which came in with the league’s worst rushing attack, saw Chris Brooks average 7.5 yards per carry over four attempts and had Kaleb Johnson average 5.3 over eight carries.

Now, the Bucs (0-4) face a short week ahead of a road trip to take on the Cowboys on Thursday Night Football. Kickoff for that game is set for 8:15 p.m.