STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

By Tom Silverstein, Journal Sentinel

Green Bay – It was a workmanlike effort Sunday that allowed the New York Giants to grind out a 24-2 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in a wild-card game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

And the Green Bay Packers can expect the exact same thing when the Giants come to Lambeau Field next Sunday as 10-point underdogs.

The Giants ground out 172 yards rushing against the Falcons behind the two-headed attack of Brandon Jacobs (14 for 92) and Ahmad Bradshaw (13 for 60) and on defense limited the Falcons to 247 yards, stopping them on two fourth-and-1 quarterback sneaks inside Giants territory that changed the complexion of the game.

When the Packers and Giants met on Dec. 4, it was a shootout.

The two teams gained nearly the same amount of yards (Giants 449, Packers 447), most of which was through the air (Giants 360, Packers 347), and it came down to a five-play, 68-yard field-goal drive in the final 58 seconds for the Packers to come away with a 38-35 victory.

On that day, the Giants were without starting C David Baas, WR Mario Manningham and DE Osi Umenyiora due to injury. Also, RB Ahmad Bradshaw was making his first appearance since injuring his foot and was limited in his playing time.

The Giants still rushed 20 times for 100 yards.

The Packers were not at full strength either.

Inside linebackers Desmond Bishop and A.J. Hawk both were out with calf injuries. Rookie D.J. Smith and Robert Francois started in the middle.

Also, right guardJosh Sitton was out with a knee injury and was replaced by Evan Dietrich-Smith.

The line did a nice job protecting QB Aaron Rodgers, who was sacked twice and completed 28 of 46 passes for 369 yards and four touchdowns with one interception.

No receiver had 100 yards, but WRs Greg Jennings and Jordy Nelson each had 94 yards and TE Jermichael Finley had six catches for 87 yards and a touchdown.

One player who could present huge problems for the Packers is WR Hakeem Nicks, who despite not being 100%, had seven catches for 88 yards and two touchdowns against them. Against the Falcons, he had six catches for 115 yards and two touchdowns.

One player who might not be available for the Giants is starting CB Aaron Ross, who was knocked out of the Atlanta game with a concussion. He did not return and his status will be closely watched all week long.

The Packers will have all of their receivers available Sunday and against the Giants, they created a lot of pressure in the secondary even with Ross there. Rookie Prince Amukamara had to cover Nelson and when he couldn’t do the job, former Packers CB Will Blackmon had to take over.

Nelson made his big 27-yard catch on the final drive on Blackmon.

Whatever, the case, the Packers know their opponent and they will have to beat a Giants team that just four years ago marched into Lambeau Field and beat the favored Packers in the NFC Championship game. The Packers have won twice against the Giants in a little over a year and will have a chance to make it three times Sunday.

Associated Press

Green Bay, WI - Backup quarterback Matt Flynn threw a touchdown pass to Jermichael Finley with 1:10 left, giving the Green Bay Packers a 45-41 victory over the Detroit Lions in a wild regular-season finale in cold and windy conditions at Lambeau Field on Sunday.

With Aaron Rodgers resting for the playoffs, Flynn set Packers franchise records with 480 yards passing and six touchdowns. It was an ideal afternoon for the Packers (15-1) who got to rest Rodgers and several other big-name players without losing playoff momentum.

Flynn, subbing for the inactive Aaron Rodgers, barely got the Packers past Matthew Stafford, who threw for 520 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions for the Lions (10-6). Detroit has lost 21 straight road games to the Packers, including the postseason.

In the third quarter, Stafford threw a 2-yard TD pass to Titus Young and another 5-yard scoring strike to Kevin Smith as the Lions took a 3-point lead into the final quarter at 34-31. Stafford also added a 2-point conversion pass to Tony Scheffler.

Flynn connected with Jordy Nelson on a 58-yard touchdown pass. It was Nelson’s third TD pass of the game.

Flynn threw a pair of touchdown passes in the second quarter. The first was an 80-yard screen pass to Ryan Grant, and the second was a 36-yard toss to Nelson with 3:37 remaining that put the Packers ahead 24-19.

Stafford threw a 13-yard TD pass to Calvin Johnson with 8:18 remaining in the first half, and Jason Hanson added a 30-yard field goal. Both teams missed field goals in the final 2 minutes of the half.

Flynn finished the half by completing 19 of 29 passes for 280 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. He hit Nelson on a 7-yard scoring pass with 16 seconds left in the first quarter to give the Packers their first lead at 10-9.

Stafford hit Young on an 8-yard touchdown pass to give Detroit a 7-0 lead.

The Lions made it 9-0 on the ensuing kickoff when Pat Lee mishandled the return and was called for a safety. 

Mason Crosby booted a 22-yard field goal to pull the Packers within 9-3 with 5:55 left in the opening quarter.

By Kevin Seifert, ESPN

KANSAS CITY — We have all week to discuss the Green Bay Packers’ injury-depleted offensive line. There is plenty of time to hash through their sudden case of the drops. I promise I’ll offer you an opportunity to debate whether coach Mike McCarthy should have challenged an apparent fourth-quarter fumble in Sunday’s 19-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. (Actually, I already have.)

For the moment, however, I think we should note just how tantalizingly close the Packers got to the most revered title imaginable: The greatest team of all time.

Their 19-game winning streak, which included a 13-0 start this season, had already placed them in the running. And if the Packers go on to win Super Bowl XLVI, perhaps we’ll still be able to make an argument on their behalf. But a 19-0 run through 2011 would have been unprecedented, as would have the corresponding 25-game winning streak. Whether they admit to it or not, the Packers know that opportunities to place yourself on that pedestal — objectively and indisputably — come around once in a lifetime.

“It would have been special, make no mistake,” cornerback Charles Woodson said in a rueful but hardly depressed Packers locker room. “When you have a shot to do something like that, you do it. We certainly felt like our chances were good to come in here and win today, and we didn’t get it done. … Guys would have loved to do it. We would have loved to do it.”

Said defensive lineman B.J. Raji: “You can’t underestimate the opportunity to chase history. It was definitely huge. We didn’t shy away from the topic. Our coach didn’t shy away from it. He addressed it. I can’t belittle the challenge to go 16-0, but obviously that’s behind us now.”

To be sure, many in the Packers’ locker room were in no way on edge as history loomed. In professional sports, the big picture rarely gets bigger than stringing together championships. Win or lose Sunday, the Packers were in better shape than any other NFL team to mount that sort of accomplishment.

Not everybody cares about the history book. But at some point in their lives, most members of the 2011 Packers would have appreciated looking back and realizing they were mathematically the most successful team ever over a two-year stretch. They had a chance to do something that New England Patriots of the 2000′s couldn’t, something the 1980s San Francisco 49ers fell short of, as did the 1970s Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers — not to mention the Packers of both Vince Lombardi and Curly Lambeau.

These Packers have nothing to be ashamed of, nor do they deserve an ounce of criticism. Only one team in history, the 2003-4 Patriots, won more than 19 consecutive games. No failure occurred here. Only a missed opportunity. As receiver Donald Driver said, “it was truly amazing to be able to win that many games in that long of a period.”

Driver added: “It hurts because that’s something special. We always talk about, if you get the perfect season, then you’re part of greatness. But you take it for what it’s worth. Right now, the only thing we can do is go 18-1. If that’s 18-1 and you’re the Super Bowl champs, I don’t think anyone cares about the perfect season after that.”

We saw some things Sunday from the Packers that might have you concerned. Now we know what happens when the Packers’ defense, which entered the game leading the NFL with 32 takeways, doesn’t get a turnover. A half-dozen or so drops reminded us how pristinely their offense has played for most of the season, and few teams are prepared to have their top two right tackles injured in the same game.

To be sure, as McCarthy noted, this wasn’t a fluke loss. “We were beaten today,” he said. “The Kansas City Chiefs outplayed us. We were beaten.”

At the same time, let’s not overreact and wonder if the Chiefs exposed the Packers’ flaws for the world to see. Let’s not be so spoiled by a 19-game winning streak that we forget the NFL’s always-true “Any Given Sunday” mantra.

In the bigger picture, the Packers know they can clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with their next victory, or by a San Francisco 49ers loss as early as Monday night. If they do it, they won’t play a game away from Lambeau Field — where they haven’t lost since October 17, 2010 — until the Super Bowl.

McCarthy said he has viewed an undefeated season “as really just gravy” on top of their more central goal of winning the Super Bowl. Perhaps he’ll feel differently in 10 years. Had the Packers been able to pull it off, and they fell five points shy of extending the run into another week, I think we would all have looked back on these past two years with a reverence reserved for the very best of all time. But for now, the Packers will settle for the best of 2011.

“Our goal has never been to set records or lead the league in statistics,” guard T.J. Lang said. “We care about getting wins and [getting home-field advantage and winning the Super Bowl], and fortunately we still have a couple of those in front of us that we can hit.”

By Mike Vandermause, Green Bay Press-Gazette

Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Ryan Pickett had to take care of some important business after practice Wednesday afternoon.

Pickett had just received the paperwork to purchase Packers stock and said he was planning to buy shares for himself, his wife and five children, which works out to a cool $1,775.

“You know what, I’m about to sign,” Pickett said. “I’m about to go do it now.”

Count Packers players among the thousands who have gotten swept up in the craze to buy a piece of the team, even if the $250-per-share asking price, plus $25 handling fee, brings few tangible benefits.

Shares can’t be resold, there are no dividends and the value never will increase. Buyers are paying 275 bucks a pop for a fancy piece of paper that for all intents and purposes is worthless.

Yet there has been no hesitation on the part of Packers fans to display their allegiance by reaching deep into their pockets.

On the first day of the stock sale Tuesday, team President Mark Murphy said the Packers sold 28,000 shares in the first 2 hours and 20 minutes. That’s a whopping $7 million, or $50,000 per minute.

If that isn’t a license to print money, what is?

“Anywhere else I’d be surprised, but in Green Bay, no, I’m not surprised,” Pickett said. “This is how much fans love the team and want to be part of this great tradition, so I’m not surprised that it’s happening here.”

Receiver Greg Jennings said at a corporate luncheon Tuesday he wasn’t planning to buy stock, but when he returned home, his wife, Nicole, told him: “Babe, by the way, (we) bought three (shares)” — one for each of the couple’s three daughters.

“No tax write-offs or anything, you just kind of have taken one on the chin,” Jennings said with a wide smile.

But he now seems convinced it’s a good investment. “It’s great to be part of something special, obviously the history of this organization, this franchise,” Jennings said. “My daughters will have something that they can reflect on and have for a lifetime.”

That seems to be the sentiment motivating Packers backers around the country to plunk down serious cash for the privilege of being part of the only community-owned team in professional sports.

“It’s kind of like how we can travel anyplace in the country and we’ve got a ton of Packers fans at every venue,” said punter Tim Masthay, who along with his expectant wife is considering buying a share for their first child. “It’s just like that, there’s such a following and such a passion about the organization that it’s not surprising.”

Critics have accused stock buyers of being suckers, and the team of being greedy, but those arguments simply don’t hold water.

The Packers will use the money to expand and upgrade Lambeau Field, the most historic football venue in the country.

Stock owners, meanwhile, feel like they’re part of the team. All shareholders receive tickets to the annual meeting at the stadium, vote for the team’s board of directors and are privy to special “owner’s only” apparel.

Perhaps the greatest benefit is the bragging rights that a stock certificate will generate. That alone makes its value priceless.

— mvandermause@greenbaypressgazette.com and follow him on Twitter @MikeVandermause.

By FoxSports.com

INSIDE SLANT

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

By Josh Alper, Pro Football Talk

If Aaron Rodgers doesn’t win the MVP award this season, we’re pretty excited to see what some other player is going to do over the final four weeks.

Rodgers added another flourish to his already iron-clad case for the award at the Meadowlands on Sunday when he took the Packers 68 yards in 58 seconds to set up Mason Crosby’s game-winning field goal. The kick gave the Packers a 38-35 win, moving them to 12-0 on the season and giving them 18 straight wins overall.

It certainly didn’t come easy. Six days after being embarrassed by the Saints, the Giants pushed the Packers further than any team has pushed them this season before finally succumbing. Eli Manning added to his fourth quarter highlight reel after the Packers took a 35-27 lead on Donald Driver’s second score of the game. Manning took the Giants on a 69-yard drive that ended with a perfect pass to Hakeem Nicks for a touchdown. D.J. Ware ran a well-executed draw for two more points, tying the game and setting the stage for Rodgers’ heroics.

Manning, who finished 23-of-40 for 347 yards and three touchdowns, did make two crucial errors in the first half, but he was at his best in the second half and almost did enough to get his team a win. Moral victories don’t count, though, so the Giants have now lost four in a row after a 6-2 start. This game probably has them feeling pretty good about their chances of turning things around down the stretch, with the Cowboys’ self-inflicted wounds in Arizona helping to foster that feeling.

It can’t hurt that the 38-35 final was the same as their Week 17 loss to the Patriots in 2007. They got another shot at that undefeated opponent and the result was different.

As good as the Giants might feel, they aren’t feeling any better than Rodgers. Every superlative has been spent trying to describe his play this season, so we’ll simply give you the numbers he compiled in this week’s thriller. Rodgers was 28-of-46 (with several drops in that mix) for 369 yards and four touchdowns. If that wasn’t enough also led the team in rushing with 32 yards on scrambles that kept the chains moving when things got hot in the pocket.

The Packers have work to do on defense, especially if Charles Woodson leaving early with a head injury develops into anything, but as long as Rodgers is in the lineup they’re going to be incredibly hard to beat.

By Lori Nickel, Journal Sentinel

Green Bay – Donald Driver was getting dressed for the game at St. Louis two years ago when Aaron Rodgers came over and handed him the game program.

“Read this,” Rodgers said.

The article referred to Green Bay’s veteran receiver being past his prime and too old to make any impact.

Driver, who has made a 13-year NFL career out of proving his detractors wrong, felt his blood boil. And then he caught four passes for 95 yards and a touchdown.

“That’s something that I love about Aaron – he knows how much I love criticism,” Driver said. “People tell me I can’t do it; I prove them wrong. Soon after that at Detroit, I ended up winning the Gobbler. Pam Oliver said after the game something like, ‘The old man does it again.’

“That was very, very motivating for Aaron to walk up to me and show me that. It was motivation to go out there and play at a high level. And he continues to push me now.”

The Packers’ elite quarterback is familiar with the power of motivation.

From the kids on the high school bus who said he’d never make it to the colleges and their rejection letters to the teams that passed on draft day to the boo-birds on Family Night. People said he couldn’t run, was made of glass, couldn’t rally in the fourth quarter and couldn’t live up to the legacy of you-know-who.

He’s used every one.

And now he finds ways to motivate his teammates.

With a look, or a word or a simple show of support, Rodgers prods his teammates to give more. There is no one formula for reaching 52 other guys. And that’s the secret. Rodgers studies his teammates to come up with the best method to push them.

“That’s why he has so much success,” backup quarterback Graham Harrell said. “It’s not just how well he plays but how he can get other guys to play around him.”

The Look

Rodgers is playful with the defensive linemen in practice, but if you play with him on offense, you do not want The Look.

It’s practice, and tight end Tom Crabtree makes a rare mistake. He looks up. Rodgers has zeroed in.

“It’s a pretty good look. It’s pretty constructive,” Crabtree said. “But it’s good to make those (mistakes) in practice, because then you definitely don’t make it in a game.”

A drop in practice. A mental error. A half-effort. Those will get the icy cobalt blue stare just long enough to make the receiver feel a little guilty, but most important – aware.

“We can’t run a route at 75% in practice because we’re not feeling it,” receiver Jordy Nelson said. “Then the timing is all off and then he looks bad and he gets mad at us – and that will keep me moving forward.

“You don’t want to get on the bad side.”

The Look is much better than more demonstrative signs of disapproval. Rodgers keeps it low-key with The Look while still conveying his message: You can do better.

“Sometimes you can see it on his face, you know: ‘Hey, come on, guys,’ ” right guard Josh Sitton said. “He’s not the type of guy that’s going to yell at you or put you down. He’s a real positive guy. Everybody respects him.

“But when things are happening wrong, he kind of gives you that look, and when he gives you that look, you know.”

Lessons learned

But The Look is nothing compared to being called out by Rodgers.

Rodgers motivates tight end Jermichael Finley by asking him to do everything the right way instead of just relying on his elite talent.

“He did jump me a couple of times, but nothing too brutal. Nothing I can’t handle,” Finley said. “Like if you didn’t get your depth on running a route, he’ll jump you for that.

“He’s the quarterback, and if you want to get the ball, you’ve got to do it right.”

But then as quickly as Rodgers pushes Finley, he praises him with something he noticed.

“He does a good job adapting to each guy, like someone like Jermichael, who is a little more wired than most guys, or Jordy and Greg Jennings, who are more laid-back,” Harrell said. “He knows how to get to each one of them personally.”

But Rodgers’ attempts at motivation don’t always work. Last year, when rookie running back James Starks came off the physically unable to perform list, Rodgers nudged him to work harder in practice.

Well, it was more like a scolding.

And Rodgers now believes he was wrong.

“He is probably the nicest guy in the locker room. And I felt bad because I kind of ripped him a couple of times,” Rodgers said. “So I had to go to him and apologize. It took me a little to figure out he was out for nine weeks and kind of how he’s best motivated.

“He just needs that constant encouragement. Reminders – but in a way that’s uplifting.”

The history behind it

Rodgers realized 10 years ago at Butte College that it helped to understand his teammates in order to ask them to play their best.

“I was 18, just out of high school,” Rodgers said. “Our center was 25 from Canada, our left tackle had been in the Army, one of my best friends on the team had been in prison – he was our free safety. I really learned the difference between leading a bunch of high schoolers – you’re all about the same age – and leading guys who come from all different backgrounds.”

Rodgers takes the time to educate himself on his teammates by being observant and making the effort to get to know them.

Tim Masthay had been in Green Bay less than 48 hours. He was thrown immediately in to a two-man fight for the punting job. He was a number. Totally anonymous.

And yet someone kept messing with him.

Masthay was working out with the special-teams unit. The quarterbacks were in the middle of a March practice. Masthay did a triple-take to realize it was Rodgers, whom he had never met, joking around with him. Still feeling like a guest, Masthay was floored.

“He called me by my first name,” Masthay said. “Me – a rookie free agent, new off the street, a punter, frankly bottom of the totem pole. Yet he immediately made me feel welcome and a part of the team.”

Rodgers does his research: Where is the player from, his college and what other parts of his background are relatable or interesting.

“I wanted to talk to Diyral Briggs right away and get his story, to Erik Walden and Howard Green and get his story, because that can only make us better,” Rodgers said. “The chemistry of the team is often under-appreciated or overlooked when you talk about success. When you know the guy next to you – when you can count on him, you’ve hung out with him, you know what kind of person he is, know how he’s motivated – then you can figure out the buttons to push.”

A year and a half later, Masthay wants to perform his best, naturally, but part of that is because he doesn’t want to let anyone down, most of all Rodgers.

“We were playing Detroit at home. The week before I hit the ball pretty decent, but Devin Hester had returned one,” Masthay said. “There was all this pressure on the punting and on me. I started out the Detroit game with a bad punt; I just kind of shanked one out of bounds. The crowd is booing here at home.

“I come to the sideline and a couple of teammates talk to me, but he pulled me off to the side – and he’s getting ready to start an offensive series – and just settled me down. ‘Just do your stuff.’ ”

A calming presence

For all the competitive nature of Rodgers, his calming effect on the team can be seen most often in his receivers.

“You know what he does that other quarterbacks don’t? It’s in the huddle: ‘Let’s just take one throw at a time,’ ” Driver said. “That motivates everyone in the huddle – even if you are nervous, like, ‘Man, I’ve got to make every play count. This may be my one opportunity.’ He makes you forget that.

“He motivates the guys to say, ‘Let’s not worry about how many balls we’ve got. Let’s just play.’ Because when it’s all said and done, no one is going to care about you having a 1,000-yard season – everyone is going to care about us winning the whole thing.”

That’s an entirely different kind of motivation, unique to a 2011 Packers squad that is so deep at receiver and tight end. Rodgers has to find a way to keep everyone content when things can’t always be fair.

The Packers won the season opener against New Orleans, but not everyone was happy. James Jones had one reception. This was not what he had hoped. Though Jones knew the Packers had depth at receiver, he had waited for his time. He had signed a new contract. His moment was now.

Rodgers didn’t want to let that issue fester, so he talked with Jones right away.

“I wanted him to know – one, I have confidence in him,” Rodgers said. “Two, I agree with him. He should get more opportunities. And three, when he’s in there, to run every route as if he’s going to get the ball.

“I don’t think that’s going to directly correlate to him playing well the next couple of weeks or anything. But I just hope he understood that I had confidence in him and I was agreeing with him.”

Jennings, Nelson, Finley and even Starks have had more catches than Jones, who had a surreal performance at Detroit on Thursday with three catches including a 65-yard touchdown. He’s shown he could be a starter. It’s got to be a challenge for the 27-year-old in his prime, but he hasn’t vented since.

One mission, one heartbeat, one team. Case closed.

Rodgers seems to enjoy being around his teammates and figuring out what makes them tick for the fulfillment of being a part of something bigger than himself – a team. A good team. And though he’s about to turn 28 years old, and perhaps win his first Most Valuable Player award, he’s still reading his teammates, listening and watching them, pushing them and encouraging them.

“When you think you’ve got it figured out, you stop being attentive to what your teammates need, because we’re a locker room that’s changing,” Rodgers said. “Guys change. Their priorities change. Their off-the-field lives change. Guys have kids, get married, guys may have something in their life that’s happened that is traumatic.

“You can’t talk to a guy the same when he’s had those experiences. You have to be sensitive to them and their needs and maybe their situation.”

Green Bay, WI (AP)

Aaron Rodgers missed a few more throws than he usually does, and even threw an interception with the game still in doubt.

He just wasn’t at his best against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday – until he absolutely had to be.

With the Packers clinging to a two-point lead and trying to fend off a late rally, Rodgers threw a 40-yard touchdown to Jordy Nelson with 2:55 left and the Packers survived a scare from the Buccaneers for a 35-26 victory.

With a 10-0 record going into a Thanksgiving Day game at Detroit, the Packers remain perfect, even if their quarterback walked away expecting much more from himself. Rodgers threw for 299 yards with three touchdowns, including a pair to Nelson, but wasn’t happy with the way he played.

”I’m just frustrated,” Rodgers said. ”I didn’t throw the ball very well. I’m not trying to be ridiculously humble right now, I’m just frustrated. The ball wasn’t coming out the way I wanted it to today.”

The Packers’ defense also had trouble stopping quarterback Josh Freeman and tackling running back LeGarrette Blount, giving Packers coach Mike McCarthy plenty of mistakes to point out going into what will be a much-hyped matchup with the Lions.

”I think it was great for us,” McCarthy said. ”Adversity is awesome. We’re getting ready to play a big game on national TV on Thanksgiving, and adversity (offers) healthy situations to learn from. Especially when you overcome it.”

Freeman threw for 342 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for the Buccaneers (4-6), who have lost four straight but didn’t back down against the reigning Super Bowl champions.

Blount had 107 yards rushing for Tampa Bay, including a rambling 54-yard touchdown run in the second quarter where he broke at least six tackles.

Tampa Bay was penalized nine times for 55 yards, but Buccaneers coach Raheem Morris wasn’t using it as an excuse.

”Penalties are what they are, they are judgment calls and the judgment went against us a lot of times,” Morris said. ”It is what it is”

Tight end Tom Crabtree caught a touchdown from Rodgers and John Kuhn added a touchdown rushing from Green Bay. The Packers got their first score of the afternoon on a run by 337-pound defensive lineman B.J. Raji.

”He’s low to the ground,” McCarthy said. ”I wouldn’t want to tackle him.”

The Buccaneers trailed by only four points and seemed to have some momentum when they tried a surprise onside kick before halftime. After a replay review gave the ball to Green Bay at the Tampa Bay 38-yard line, Rodgers drove for a 5-yard touchdown to Nelson that gave the Packers a 21-10 lead.

Tampa Bay then had a touchdown taken off the board in the third quarter when Kellen Winslow was called for offensive pass interference. The Buccaneers settled for a 32-yard field goal by Connor Barth.

”I really felt we made enough to plays to beat those guys,” Winslow said. ”It is hard to win when you put the game in the refs’ hands.”

The Buccaneers’ defense got a stop, and Freeman directed an eight-play, 91-yard scoring drive that ended with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Mike Williams.

Tampa Bay tried to tie it with a 2-point conversion, but Winslow – who had a pair of big gains on the drive – dropped a catchable ball in the end zone.

Packers running back James Starks did the majority of the work in an eight-play, 85-yard scoring drive that ended with a 2-yard touchdown run by Kuhn.

But the Buccaneers got another chance when Rodgers threw an interception to Elbert Mack – only Rodgers’ fourth pick this season – and Freeman threw a 37-yard pass to Arrelious Benn to set up first-and-goal at the 2.

Freeman then threw a touchdown to Dezmon Briscoe and the Buccaneers kicked the extra point to cut the Packers’ lead to 28-26 with 4:25 left.

Tampa Bay tried another onside kick, but the Packers recovered and Rodgers found Nelson to put the game away.

Morris knew he might get second-guessed for the onside kicks but wasn’t apologizing.

”We wanted to get the ball and win,” Morris said. ”We are not going to apologize for being aggressive. When you play the Green Bay Packers, you got to play aggressive, you got to go out and make plays. (You’ve) got to steal possessions.”

Notes: McCarthy said Starks sprained his knee during Sunday’s game, and his availability this week is unclear. … A late interception gave the Packers’ Mason Crosby a shot at a 29-yard field goal, but Crosby hit the right upright, his first miss of the season. … Packers punter Tim Masthay turned a broken play into a first down in the first quarter, despite fumbling twice on the play. ”Tim’s got to hold onto that football,” Rodgers said, smiling. ”That was pretty funny.”