A win is a win. We'll take it.
The Green Bay Packers had multiple chances to bury the game, but two fourth-quarter turnovers gave the Tampa Bay Buccaneers life. In the end, though, Matt LaFleur's Packers held on for a victory they needed so, so badly.
Attention will quickly shift to the Chicago Bears – Ben Johnson is already talking about the Packers – but for now, let's dive deeper into the ugly but crucial Week 4 win.
Biggest winners and losers for Packers in victory over Buccaneers
Winner: Jordan Love
Forget the statistics for a moment. The fact that Jordan Love didn't spend all afternoon eating the Raymond James Stadium turf already makes him a winner. It might be hard to believe, but Love didn't take a single sack. The Bucs only hit him twice.
That had to feel good for Love, literally and figuratively, and it helped him look far more comfortable in the pocket.
Much was made of Love's league-worst completion percentage through three weeks, but, shocker, all that disappeared when he actually had time to work through his progressions and pick out a pass. Love completed 22 of his 30 passes for 197 yards, two touchdowns, and one late interception.
It's hard to blame Love too much for the pick, as it was truly a phenomenal play by Bucs cornerback Jacob Parrish, who flew out of seemingly nowhere to jump the route and intercept the pass.
Love's numbers would've been even better had Tucker Kraft, Matthew Golden, and Bo Melton not had costly drops. Per PFF, he had an adjusted completion percentage (which factors in drops and throwaways) of 83.3 percent. That'll do.
Winner: Evan Williams
Evan Williams is a star. He doesn't get as much national praise as he should, which is perhaps a symptom of starting opposite Xavier McKinney, but Williams is a playmaker.
He came up big when the Packers needed him, recording an interception, a sack, two pass defenses, two QB hits, and a tackle for loss.
Williams does everything well. He's one of the Packers' best run defenders, which he proved again on Sunday, and rarely gets beat in coverage. The best compliment you can give Williams is that he's always in the right place and never gets burned.
Green Bay needed Williams in a close battle, and he delivered.
Winner: Offensive line
Pop the champagne. The Packers' offensive line made the winners section!
Let's be honest: Not letting Love get hit 18 times in a game would've counted as a win. But they went well beyond that, keeping Love upright all game long. Tampa Bay couldn't break through for a sack, having to instead settle for two quarterback hits.
Laken Tomlinson made an instant impact at left guard, carving open some of the Packers' best rushing lanes of the day. He helped set up Kaleb Johnson's big 31-yard run with a perfect double-team with Sean Rhyan. Tomlinson also allowed zero pressures, per PFF.
Credit to Travis Glover, too. We last saw him in a disastrous performance off the bench in the Packers' playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles two years ago. He was arguably the best offensive lineman on the field on Sunday.
Kevin Zeitler will presumably take over the right guard duties next week, which will help this line level up again. The Packers have to feel much better about their ability for the offense to function.
Winner: Trey Smack
Trey Smack has been so automatic that we barely speak about him. That needs to change, so let's give the rookie his flowers.
It's incredible to think about his turbulent training camp. Smack couldn't string together two good practices, but once the games began in the preseason, he barely missed a beat. And that's continued into the regular season.
Smack was perfect on Sunday, hitting a 58-yard field goal and two extra-point tries. He's now missed only one of seven field goals (and it was blocked, not missed), and he's hit two kicks from 50-plus. The rookie has missed a PAT this season, but he's been almost perfect.
Loser: MarShawn Lloyd
It's just not working for MarShawn Lloyd. The Packers understandably want to give him opportunities, but he's hurting the offense. Lloyd is far too hesitant – he dances on the spot and tries to make defenders miss instead of just getting up the field and running through them.
Perhaps it's just a lack of NFL experience after missing so much time, but his vision has also been an issue this season.
The numbers say it all. Lloyd rushed seven times for 13 yards, averaging 1.9 yards per carry. He's up to 81 yards on 30 attempts this season, an average of just 2.7 yards per carry. The positive is that Lloyd had five catches for 36 yards. That might be his path to snaps, but it's not working on the ground.
Loser: Injury luck
The Packers will have to get through the remainder of the season without Edgerrin Cooper after he suffered an apparent Achilles tear against the Buccaneers. He's irreplaceable. Cooper was having an outstanding game, too, with a sack and a crucial interception.
Cooper's injury was by far the most worrisome, but Green Bay also lost Chris Brooks to an ankle injury and Brandon Cisse to a neck injury and potential concussion. Hopefully, they are both OK for Week 5 against the Bears.
Losing Cooper is devastating. It's the third significant, season-ending injury for the Packers, having already lost Zach Bako-Bewele and Jayden Reed.
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