Home NFL Week Four Skeleton Keys To Victory: Packers Vs Buccaneers

Week Four Skeleton Keys To Victory: Packers Vs Buccaneers

September 30, 2026

Things seem to be going from bad to worse for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They lost their third straight game to start the season on Sunday. On top of that, they also lost starting quarterback Baker Mayfield to a dislocated thumb.

So now the season trudges on. Winless, quarterbackless and seemingly hopeless. We turn now to hosting the Green Bay Packers in a game that very much feels do or die for the Bucs.

However, I’m not ready to give up on this team. The roster is too talented and the NFC South is too wide open for the season to be over. In fact, I am actually optimistic that the Bucs will win this game.

Perhaps you find that hard to believe. You might see where I’m coming from in this week’s Buccaneers skeleton keys to victory.

Make Things Easy For The Rookie

With Mayfield out, it will be undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels taking over as the starting quarterback. Daniels won the primary backup job in training camp, beating out veteran backup Jake Browning. It’s not ideal to have an undrafted rookie as your starter, but he beat out a proven commodity to take this job.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that he’s ready to lead this offense to new heights. There will be mistakes and there will be growing pains. The key will be playing to his strengths and not asking too much from him.

Quick hitters like slants, comebacks and screens should be featured pretty heavily in this game. Considering that Daniels is very mobile, some designed quarterback runs could be in play. If he can lead this offense to just 20 points then the Bucs have a pretty decent chance to win.

Pound The Rock

With a rookie quarterback, the offense should plan to lean into the running game. This should probably have been the plan even if Mayfield was starting. It’s a Buccaneers strength vs a Packers weakness.

Green Bay has allowed the 5th most rushing yards in the NFL this year. And while their yards allowed per carry numbers are better, they are still just middle of the pack. Whereas the Bucs are tied for 10th in most rushing yards gained per attempt.

Bucky Irving has been off to a good start this year and the Bucs should embrace that. However, they still have to get Kenneth Gainwell going and Sean Tucker has yet to see the field. I’d like to see all three backs get carries in this game and be north of 30 total attempts overall.

Attack This Offensive Line

The Bucs defense hasn’t been perfect by any means so far this year. However, the overall results have been good. This despite going against an MVP caliber quarterback in Joe Burrow as well as one of the better offensive coaches in the league in Kevin O’Connell.

The Packers offense should be easier to deal with than either of those two units. Specifically because their offensive line has not been good this year. Both running and passing the ball has felt like an uphill battle at times.

This is a perfect game for the Buccaneers defensive line to dominate. It’s also the type of game where Todd Bowles dials up the blitz and causes chaos in the backfield. This Green Bay offensive line is ripe for the picking and the Bucs are just the team to take advantage of them.

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