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Aaron Rodgers isn't playing better or worse -- he's playing differently. He's throwing it shorter than ever. He averaged just 3.0 air yards on his completions Sunday against the Buccaneers. That's around half of the NFL average. Consequently, a large portion of his yardage has come after the catch. He's on track to set a career low in average air yards (5.1) and career high in YAC percentage (65%). Perhaps that could change if rookie receiver Romeo Doubs continues to produce.

Gossip item: Aaron Rodgers might be finding new love in his wideout room. Rookie fourth-rounder Romeo Doubs hauled in all eight of his targets for 73 yards and a score in a narrow win over the Bucs. If Doubs gains Rodgers' trust, he can become a breakout star overnight. Meanwhile, is Rodgers finally getting his blind-side protector back? David Bakhtiari made another attempt at a return to the Packers lineup, playing 35 offensive snaps in a rotation with Yosh Nijman on Sunday. Bakhtiari was one of the best left tackles in football before suffering a knee injury in practice on Dec. 31, 2020. A return to form would be a massive lift for the entire offense.

They still don't do a lot on offense, but that will come as Aaron Rodgers gets more comfortable with his receivers. The defense impressed in beating Tampa Bay.

Maybe, like last year, they will reel off a lengthy winning streak in the aftermath of a Week 1 faceplant. The next three are home games against New England and both of New York's finest ... though the Week 5 date with the Giants will occur in London, not Lambeau Field.

On their opening two drives, the Packers scored 14 points and gained 146 yards.

On their final nine drives, not including an end-of-game kneeldown, they scored zero points and gained 169 yards.

Still, it was enough to just barely hold on for a difficult win against one of the league's best defenses. As Matt Schneidman writes, this is a Packers team built to win in different ways than the ones we're used to. With David Bakhtiari returning on a limited basis and Elgton Jenkins back, plus the expected jelling of a young wide receiver corps, there's hope for the offense to improve as the season goes on.

Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense are so far surviving a lack of firepower, due in large part to injuries along the offensive line and a lack of depth and experience at receiver. After a disastrous Week 1 against Minnesota, Rodgers's yards per attempt average and expected points added per dropback average both rank top-10 over the last two weeks. He is juicing all that he can out of a battered offense desperate for playmaking talent and making up for a Green Bay defense that ranks just 17th in yards per play allowed (5.64) so far this season.

It would have been nice if the Packers offense put that Buccaneers game away early, so the defense didn't have to face a two-point conversion in the final seconds. But the Packers were going against a very good Bucs defense. And they got a win that is going to matter a lot when the NFC gets seeded in January.

The defense is playing better, which is good because the offense still needs work.