Rookie QB Jalon Daniels, making his first NFL start, threw for 148 yards and a touchdown, ran for another 55 yards and led a spirited fourth-quarter comeback on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium but it wasn't enough to earn the Tampa Bay Buccaneers their first victory of the 2026 season. The Green Bay Packers got 197 yards and two touchdowns from Jordan Love and intercepted Daniels twice to escape with a 17-14 victory. Daniels became the first rookie quarterback to make a start in the NFL this season and the first undrafted rookie ever to open a game at that position for the Buccaneers.

The loss dropped Tampa Bay to 0-4 for the first time since 2013.

"It's on us," said Head Coach Todd Bowles. "We know what the problem is. It's on us. We can't keep getting close and not winning. That's not good enough. Our record says what we are. We're oh-and-four. We acknowledge that and correct our own mistakes [or] it's going to keep happening. We talked about it as a team: We're going to be a team and we've got play tougher in the end and we've got to execute in the end. That's the only way you can win a ballgame."

Sunday's game was the fourth defeat in a row by seven points or less, but that is of little comfort to Buccaneer players who have set a higher standard with four division titles and a Super Bowl championship in the previous six seasons.

"We are 0-4," said T Tristan Wirfs, a team captain. "I don't care how close it is…We are shooting ourselves in the foot."

In this particular case, the frustrating bit of self-damage was pass protection issues near the end of the game. After Daniels' 10-yard touchdown pass to RB Kenny Gainwell made it a three-point game early in the fourth quarter and the Bucs' defense turned away two subsequent Green Bay scoring opportunities with turnovers, the offense moved into Packers territory and a first down at the 46. However, Daniels faced nearly instant pressure on three of the next four snaps, including a free rush from safety Evan Williams off the edge that forced a desperation throw that fell incomplete on fourth-and-11.

"We just had a negative play," said Bowles. "We didn't get it done. We've been here a couple weeks now at the end of ballgames and we're not finishing. We've got to find a way to finish the game."

Daniels took responsibility for the protection bust on fourth down.

"They brought a double-A gap mug look with eight threats," he explained. "We've got to do a better…or I have to do a better job of being able to put us in better protection and make sure we pick that keep up. If I flip that and make sure that we're able to slide to him, he doesn't get free and I'm able to make a throw."

Before the fourth-and-11 play, the Buccaneers considered attempting a game-tying field goal from the Green Bay with K Chase McLaughlin, whose career long, set last season, is 65 yards. However, on this day, Bowles and his staff felt it was out of their range.

"Yeah, we did," he confirmed. "It was too far for us, a good 10 to 15 yards too far for us. The wind was blowing that way as well. We thought about it, didn't feel good about it."

Daniels started the game in place of the injured Baker Mayfield, who dislocated his right thumb late in last week's loss to the Vikings. He completed 19 of 27 passes for 148 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. He was sacked three times and the Buccaneers have now allowed 16 sacks through the first four weeks. Daniels' favorite target was Chris Godwin, who caught six passes for 31 yards. Tight end Cade Otton added 37 yards on four receptions.

"I mean, being able to have your first NFL start," said Daniels of what positives he can take from the game. "It didn't go as I wanted it to go. I would have much rather had a win after this. But I think that's probably the positive, just being able to say that I had my first NFL start."

The Buccaneers did manage to give their rookie starter a supportive rushing attack with 141 yards and a 4.5-yard carry. Daniels added to that himself, of course, but Bucky Irving ran for 61 yards and both Gainwell and Sean Tucker reached the end zone. Tucker capped a 54-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter to tie the game at 7-7 by barreling over the line for a two-yard score.

Tampa Bay's defense had another strong showing, holding the Packers to 283 yards, 15 first downs and two conversions in 10 third-down tries. Vita Vea forced a fumble by RB Kaleb Johnson near the Bucs' goal line in the fourth quarter, which Zyon McCollum recovered. CB Jacob Parrish intercepted a deep pass inside the 20 on the Packers' next possession. However, neither of those two takeaways led to points, while Green Bay scored 10 points of its two takeaways.

The Buccaneers also failed to get much pressure on Love, who was not sacked and was hit only twice despite playing behind an offensive line that had struggled in recent weeks due to a rash of injuries. Rookie LB Josiah Trotter led the Bucs' defense with nine tackles and S Antoine Winfield Jr. added six tackles and a forced fumble before exiting in the fourth quarter with an abdomen/rib injury.

"The ball was coming in 2.4 seconds, which he's very good at," said Bowles of Love's quick release, which helped mitigate the pass rush. "He's one of the best starters in the league at getting the ball out so we tried to concentrate on coverage. Those guys were trying to rush the passer hard [but] the ball was coming out so fast."

Only one team in NFL history, the 1992 San Diego Chargers, has made the playoffs after an 0-4 start, but the schedule has increased to 17 games since then and the NFC South was won last year by an eight-win team. The Buccaneers now have quick turnaround as they head to Dallas for a Thursday night game against the Cowboys in Week Five.

"I'm obviously not happy with the result," said Daniels of his debut start. "At this position, you want to do everything that you can to be able to go out there and win a football game, and we ended up coming up short. With all the love that I have for this game and everything I've put into it on a day-to-day basis…we came up short. I think we're going to look at what's on film, own that, and get ready to play Thursday night football."

The Buccaneers got the ball first and started at their own 25, with Irving getting five yards on first down and three more on second down on runs between the tackles. Daniels tried to roll right and throw for the first down but was forced into a scramble that was stopped for no gain by LB Edgerrin Cooper. Riley Dixon's first punt was fair caught at the Green Bay 29.

On the second play of the Packers' first drive, TE Tucker Kraft broke a tackle after a short pass and turned it into a 17-yard gain to the 48. Love's next pass went to WR Matthew Golden for six more, but OLB Yaya Diaby tripped up RB MarShawn Lloyd on second down to make it third-and-two. Love hit WR Bo Melton deep down the middle on a seam pass but the receiver lost control of the ball when he hit the ground. The Packers punted from the Bucs' 44 and it bounced out of bounds at the 14.

Daniels' executed a play-action fake and rollout to perfection, hitting wide open TE Cade Otton for a gain of 13. Irving continued to pound the ball up the gut, getting five and seven yards on his next two totes. Daniels escaped pressure and scrambled for one yard on first down, then sprinted up the middle on the next play and slid down for a first down a yard past midfield. Two plays later, however, Daniels tried to find WR Emeka Egbuka on the left sideline but it was intercepted by safety Evan Williams, who managed to get his leg inbounds before sliding across the sideline at the 36.

Two plays into the ensuing drive, RB Chris Brooks broke through to the second level and got 27 yards to the Bucs' 37 before S Antoine Winfield Jr. tracked him down. Love kept the ball on an RPO on the next play and was able to dive forward for four yards, but LB Josiah Trotter picked through traffic to stop Lloyd at the line of scrimmage. On third-and-six, Trotter was there again to pull down Brooks on short pass, but the Packers moved the chains on fourth down with an easy rollout pass to Kraft out to the right. Now at the 18, the Packers got five yards on a Lloyd run and three on another flare out right to Kraft. Diaby stood up Lloyd on third down to deny the conversion but the Packers went for it again and got it with a "tush push" run by Kraft. A three-yard run down to the three brought the first quarter to a conclusion and the teams walked about 90 yards down the field to the other end zone. On the next play, Love found Kraft wide open in the back right corner of the defense but the ball clanged off the tight end's hand. Parrish nearly intercepted Love's next pass but was then flagged for pass interference, making it first-and-goal. Trotter met Brooks in the backfield on the next play and stood him up for a loss of two, after which the Packers burned a timeout. Lloyd got the ball on second down but he lost yards too thanks to CB Jacob Parrish. A swing pass to Lloyd got four back but he stepped out at the two. The Packers lined up to go for it on fourth down but had to use another timeout to avoid a delay-of-game penalty. The extra discussion was worth it as Golden ran a speed out to the right and was able to catch the ball over DB Keionte Scott for the touchdown.

After a touchback brought the ball to the 35, Irving was stopped for no gain and Otton had an open seam pass to him bounce off his hands. Daniels was forced to scramble on third-and-10 and made several nifty moves but still only gained two yards and the Bucs had to punt. It was fair caught at the Green Bay 24.

WR Christian Watson got flagged for a push-off on the Packers' next play and RB Kaleb Johnson got four yards on his first carry. After an incompletion with Parrish in tight coverage on Golden, and a deep shot to WR Michael Sturdivant on third-and-14 led to a punt. Daniel Whelan's boot took a sideways bounce and was downed at the Bucs' 46.

Gainwell got the call in the backfield to open the next drive and got five yards on two carries up the middle. On third down, Daniels threw a precision strike to fellow rookie Ted Hurst down the right sideline for a gain of 21 to the Packers' 28. Two plays later, a sidearm pass to Otton on a screen pass got the ball to within a couple feet of the first-down marker. Sean Tucker got the short-yardage carry but didn't make it back to the sticks but he got a second chance on fourth down and powered through the pack for a first down, pushing for eight yards down to the 11. Daniels dashed around left end on a designed run on first down and picked up nine down to the two. Tucker got it again and bounced out to a seam over left tackle to dart into the end zone and tie the game with five minutes left in the first half.

WR Skyy Moore took the ensuing kickoff back out to the Green Bay 26. A holding call on first down resulted in a nine-yard loss but Love then found Watson in a hole in the Bucs' zone and got it to him for a gain of 16. Johnson's second-down carry lost a yard when DL Rakeem Nuñez-Roches ran him down from the backside. On the next play, Love hit Golden down the left numbers for what would have been a 17-yard gain, but Parrish was able to poke the ball out of the receiver's hands. Winfield picked it up and returned it to the Green Bay 18, but the play was reviewed and reclassified into an incompletion, leading to a punt that was fair caught at the Bucs' 16.

Daniels' quick pass out to Tez Johnson to the right was good for only two yards, but a screen pass to Godwin worked much better, picking up nine and a first down. Johnson made an impressive snag in front of a defender on Daniels' next throw, picking up 15 yards as the two-minute warning arrived. A Daniels scramble and a short pass to Godwin left the Bucs in a third-and-one in at the Green Bay 45. After an incompletion, the Bucs went for it on fourth down and Daniels was able to hit Hurst for a gain of four. However, two plays later Daniels was intercepted on a short pass by a diving Cooper, who got up and ran 18 yards to the Bucs' 44 with 34 seconds left.

Love threw his next two passes to Lloyd but they only amounted to four total yards and the Packers let the clock roll down to two seconds before sending rookie kicker Trey Smack out to try a 58-yard field goal. The Bucs used a timeout right before the snap but it failed to throw Smack off his game as he eventually drilled the long field goal for a 10-0 halftime lead.

The Bucs had to kick off to start the second half and Chase McLaughlin executed it to perfection with a kick that landed in the red zone near the left sideline and bounced into the end zone for a touchback. That put the ball at the Packers' 20, but they still got close to midfield in a hurry, as Love found wide-open TE Mark Redman open down the left numbers for a gain of 25. The Packers faced a third-and-one at the Bucs' 46 moments later and Lloyd was able to bounce his carry to the outside and get five and a first down. Johnson got the next two handoffs and on the second one he broke into the open and rumbled down to the five before Winfield got him out of bounds. A three-yard plunge by Johnson was followed by a Love pass out to Kraft near the right pylon. Kraft caught the ball but it was initially ruled incomplete due to where his feet landed. The Packers threw the challenge flag and the ruling was overturned, leading to a touchdown and a 10-point Green Bay lead.

Another touchback allowed the Bucs to restart at their 35, and Irving made a pair of decisive cuts to gain a total of seven yards on two carries. Unfortunately, a snap infraction penalty on C Graham Barton turned third-and-three into third-and-eight, and a perfect blitz by S Xavier McKinney resulted in a very quick sack of Daniels back at the 30. Dixon came on to punt and his kick was re4dturned by Moore to the Green Bay 38 with eight minutes left in the third quarter.

Love threw downfield towards Kraft on first down but both Parrish and Tykee Smith were there to break it up. It was moot anyway, as the Bucs accepted a hands-to-the-face call to push Green Bay back 10 yards. A deep out to Golden got those 10 back plus three but Johnson's second-down run was stopped by Zyon McCollum for no gain. After a false start made it third-and-12, Love went overt he top in Golden's direction but the ball sailed out of bounds and out of reach. Johnson fielded the resulting punt with his heels at Bucs' three but was able to get it back out to the 16.

A Daniels scrambled started the drive off with a gain of five, and a quick curl by Godwin led to a 13-yard pickup to the 34. Two plays later, Daniels rolled left and took a hard hit as he flicked a quick throw to WR Kameron Johnson to make it third-and-two. Daniels saw an opening up the middle on third down and broke free for another 21 yards to the Green Bay 37. A 10-yard screen to Tez Johnson two snaps later made it first down at the 24, and after a 12-men-on-the-field penalty, a quick strike to Gainwell picked up 12. After picking up the first down with his next carry, Irving added three more on the final play of the third quarter. Egbuka ran a vertical route into the end zone on the first play of the fourth quarter but couldn't quite haul in Daniels' pass in the end zone. On third-and-seven Daniels scrambled right and threw on the run to Gainwell, who caught the pass near the sticks and then lunged into the end zone for the 10-yard touchdown.

Moore got the next kickoff back out to the Packers' 32 and then drew a holding flag on first down but Love threw a precise strike to TE Jonnu Smith for a gain of 19 on the next play. After a false start and a fine ankle tackle by Parrish on a tight end screen to Kraft the Packers were in a third-and-three. Love stood in against a blitz and took a hit as threw but was on target to Watson down the left numbers for 18 yards and a first down inside Bucs territory. A screen right to Moore was swarmed over by multiple defenders and LB Christian Rozeboom spun him down for a loss of two. Two plays later, on third-and-four, the Bucs chased Love into a throwaway but the Packers were bailed out on a defensive holding call. Winfield forced a fumble by Lloyd at the end of a 16-yard catch but the ball rolled out of bounds before the Bucs could get to it. However, three plays later on first-and-goal from the three Vea forced a fumble by Johnson and McCollum recovered at the Buccaneers' four with nine minutes left in regulation.

Johnson had to sprint away from a potential safety on first down but was able to get off a short pass to Godwin for two yards. Irving got one more on a second-down carry, and Egbuka fought his way upfield on a tunnel screen to preserve the drive with an eight-yard gain. Two plays later, the Packers were all over an attempted screen to Godwin and the resulting lost made it third-and-14. Barton's snap fluttered out to Daniels right and he was only able to recover it back at the two. After the ensuing punt, the Packers were all the way back to the Bucs' 34 with five minutes left.

Lloyd hurdled over a defender near the end of a 12-yard catch-and-run but after a false start, Green Bay gave the ball back. Jacob Parrish left his man to cut in front of Matthew Golden and picked off the pass at the Tampa Bay seven, returning it to the 15.

Irving kick-started the Bucs' drive with a pair of hard-charging seven-yard runs, but he was stopped for just one yard on his next first-down carry. A deep out to Godwin got it to the 36 to make it third-and-three. After a timeout, Otton leaked off the line over the middle and made a falling grab to get the first down and bring on the two-minute warning. After the break, a pass out wide to Otton worked for 14 yards to the Green Bay 46. Daniels had to scramble wildly to get away from quick pressure on first down but was able to avoid the sack and throw the ball out of bounds. However, the pressure arrived immediately again on second down and this time Daniels was wrapped up by Williams for a six-yard loss. A screen to Egbuka got five yards back and the Bucs called a timeout to discuss their do-or-die fourth-down call. Williams ran in unblocked off the edge and got Daniels, who got off a desperation throw that landed incomplete, turning it over on downs with 1:25 left. The Packers kneeled out the clock from there.