The Green Bay Packers will face a potential playoff team in the NFC – featuring a future Hall of Famer at quarterback and loads of talent and speed on both sides of the ball – coming out of bye week on Sunday.
Coach Matt LaFleur believes a showdown with Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will provide a “great challenge” for the unbeaten Packers.
“They’re as good as any team, I feel, in the league,” LaFleur said Monday. “When you look at their roster, and (they’ve) got great coaches who have proven success. We have a great challenge ahead of us.”
The Buccaneers are 3-2 after five weeks and coming off a one-point loss on the road to the Chicago Bears on Thursday, but Bruce Arians’ team has scored at least 28 points in three of five games, and the Buccaneers defense is second in the NFL in total yards allowed and third in yards per play.
LaFleur said the Buccaneers are “very athletic” and a “very fast team.”
The offense is built around Brady, the 43-year-old quarterback in his first season with the Buccaneers. He’s surrounded with talent, including receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin and running backs Ronald Jones and Leonard Fournette.
“Offensively, they’re capable of some big-time plays. They have great skill positions. I think their offensive line is really good. And obviously, they have a Hall of Fame quarterback,” LaFleur said. “There’s a lot to like (about) the talent they have. Their runners, they have two extraordinary runners, they just have a lot of good pieces.”
Brady has thrown 12 touchdown passes in five games, including six to Evans. Scott Miller has chipped in 250 receiving yards as a slot receiver, tight Rob Gronkowski has 12 catches, and Jones and Fournette have combined for almost 600 total yards.
Godwin, who caught 86 passes last season, has missed three games with a hamstring injury but could return Sunday.
The Tampa Bay defense is coordinated by Todd Bowles, the former coach of the New York Jets and defensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals. The group is headlined by linebackers Lavonte David and Devin White, defensive linemen Shaq Barrett, Jason Pierre-Paul and Ndamukong Suh, cornerback Jamel Dean and standout rookie safety Antoine Winfield Jr.
“Going against Todd Bowles a few times, he’s a tough guy to go against. They have a really sound defense that can present a lot of different challenges. They have playmakers, they’re very, very fast on the defensive side of the ball. It’s going to be a great challenge for us,” LaFleur said.
The Buccaneers have forced nine turnovers and have 17 sacks through five games, and the group is only allowing 4.9 yards per play and 2.7 yards per rush. They are the best rushing defense in football by total yards and average per carry.
The Buccaneers did suffer two big injuries recently, losing playmaking tight end O.J. Howard and disruptive defensive lineman Vita Vea to season-ending injuries in the past two weeks.
The Packers have won twice on the road this season, beating both the Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints – two playoff teams a year ago – away from home in empty stadiums. The Buccaneers, who currently lead the NFC South, will have a limited number of fans in attendance on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium.
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