As Wisconsinites, and obviously avid Packer fans, we ended last week with a renewed sense of spirit and optimism in the realm of football. The first win for the Pack. 

Coming off of a breezy 27-10 win against the Bears, the Packers and loyal Wisconsinite fans (aka ‘the Pack’) faced the legendary quarterback in all his glory, Tom Brady. 

Brady is commonly known as the first player in NFL history to win seven Super Bowl Championships. Until 2020, Brady was known for his performance as a New England Patriot for twenty years. 

After signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in March of 2020, his latest Super Bowl victory was in 2021. 

Basically, legend Tom Brady coming face-to-face with Wisconsin celebrity Aaron Rodgers was a talking point across the state, and more importantly, in Packer party headquarters, UW-Eau Claire. 

Last week, we heard from lifelong Packer fan Matthew Last. After recently becoming part-time employed, Last wasn’t able to tune into this week’s game. 

Childhood teammate and friend of Last, second-year finance student Zach Kluz, was just as stoked about the game. 

Kluz said that the Packers defense played a game that ultimately led them to the win. Had it not been for the defense stepping up, the Bucs surely would have walked all over the game. 

The defense that Kluz is talking about is what saved the Packers the game in the last possession. With just a few minutes left, Green Bay had settled into a 14-6 game.

This is where Brady comes into play. There’s a reason he has won seven Super Bowls, after all. Brady led the offense 89 yards down the field, for a touchdown pass to running back Russell Gage. 

This play turned the game into a nail biter, to say the least. Just 14 seconds on the clock, and Buccaneers need a final two-point conversion to tie up the game. Fortunately for Wisconsinites, the pass intended for Gage was deflected. 

Packer linebacker De’Vondre Campbell deflected the pass, making the Buccaneers unsuccessful for the two-point conversion. This defensive play secured the win for the Packers, finalizing the score at a close 14-12 win. 

Despite pulling off this close win, the Packers still have some offensive holes to fill before they come up against Brady’s former home team on Oct. 2nd, the New England Patriots. 

After Green Bay’s first two touchdowns and a near third before a fumble by Aaron Jones, offensive forces seemed to fall apart. 

For the next eight Packer possessions, the team executed only three first downs. Simply said the Buccaneers defense made it difficult to get much of anything accomplished on the scoreboard. 

Despite the second-half shutout for the Packers, the team still came out on top. Green Bay will have to step it up next week as they face the Patriots coming off of a win against the Steelers followed by a bye week. 

To watch the Patriot vs. Packer game, tune into CBS or the NFL network for kickoff at 3:25 PM.

Schoenemann can be reached at [email protected].