Aaron Rodgers advised Packers fans to "R-E-L-A-X" following a 1-2 start to the 2014 season. Fans that took Rodgers' advice were rewarded when Green Bay won 12 of its next 14 games before falling just short of the Super Bowl.
Rodgers was singing a similar tune on Sunday following Green Bay's first loss of the season, a 38-10 trouncing at the hand of the 4-2 Buccaneers. Despite the 28-point loss, Rodgers, who threw two interceptions, including a pick-six by Buccaneers cornerback Jamel Dean, said that the Packers' five-game body of work gives him confidence that he and his teammates will be just fine moving forward.
"Might need to add an extra finger into the scotch," Rodgers said with a smile following Sunday's game. "But I do feel good about the team ... I feel really good about our squad. We had four really, really good weeks, being efficient. Offensively, being very explosive. Defensively, coming up with timely stops."
Rodgers, who entered the game with 13 touchdowns and zero interceptions, said that Sunday's loss reminded him of another 38-10 defeat that transpired eight years earlier. In Week 12 of the 2012 season, the Packers, a 15-1 outfit the previous season, received a 38-10 drubbing at the hands of the Giants, the same team that upset Green Bay in the divisional round of the playoffs 11 months earlier. The Packers responded to that loss by winning five of their next six games before losing to the eventual NFC champion 49ers in the divisional round.
"Tonight kind of felt like that, unfortunately," Rodgers said of the 2012 loss in New York. "Where you kind of got off to a good start, and then, just nothing."
The Packers did get off to a good start on Sunday, as Aaron Jones' one-yard touchdown run gave the visiting team a 10-0 lead after the opening quarter. Dean's pick-six, however, appeared to change the complexion of the game, as the Buccaneers scored 38 unanswered points while handing Green Bay its first loss of the season. Rodgers, who averaged nearly 304 passing yards per game during the Packers' 4-0 start, was held to 160 yards passing on Sunday. Conversely, the Buccaneers received two touchdown passes from Tom Brady and 113 rushing yards and two touchdowns from Ronald Jones, as the Packers were out-gained by the Buccaneers, 324-201.
Green Bay, despite Sunday's performance, is still fourth in the NFL in scoring, sixth in rushing and fifth in third down efficiency. Green Bay's defense, however, has slipped to 20th in the league in scoring, 24th in yards per carry allowed and 29th in red zone efficiency. And while Za'Darius Smith's five sacks is tied for the fourth-highest total in the NFL, that total represents nearly half of the Packers' team sack total through five games. The Packers' defense will look to turn things around on Sunday against the 1-5 Texans.
As it relates to his offense, Rodgers said that facing the Buccaneers' talented linebacker duo of Lavonte David and Devin White will help him and his teammates prepare for another talented linebacker duo that he will face two times during the second half of the season.
"We're going to have to learn, because there's going to be other fast linebackers," Rodgers said, via the team's official website. "Chicago has another fast tandem as well [in Roquan Smith and Khalil Mack]. There's a lot to be learned from this game."
